


Harry Potter and The Blacks' Family Legacy

by Darkhuntsman



Series: Black Family Legacy [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Albus Dumbledore Bashing, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Family, Ginny Weasley Bashing, Hogwarts Fifth Year, M/M, Minor Character Death, Molly Weasley Bashing, Muggle-born, Mundane-born, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Politics, Pure-blood Agenda, Ron Weasley Bashing, legacy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-16 12:14:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 52,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29332131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkhuntsman/pseuds/Darkhuntsman
Summary: Alternate Fifth year- Harry Potter disappears the summer after the fourth year, but returns during the Trial a changed youth, he’s more mature. Making new friends and new enemies, Harry must face betrothal contracts, and Ancient Houses all while navigating politics and still dealing with the threat of Voldemort.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Harry Potter
Series: Black Family Legacy [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2207982
Comments: 51
Kudos: 214





	1. One: Winds of Change

**Author's Note:**

> I know people don't usually like author notes so i'll keep it short. This is an alternate story to the fifth year at Hogwarts, though many canon events will appear and some parts of the book will be in the story.
> 
> A big thank you to The Harry Potter lexicon and Potterwords on Livejournal, they were a massive help while writing this. 
> 
> A last thank you to my beta's for checking the story, all mistake's are my own.

Murmurs moved around the room as groups of people chattered as to why they had been called to a full Wizengamot meeting on a Saturday. Cyrus Greengrass, Duke of Caernarfonshire, turned around to look at those behind him; the twelve members of the Ancient houses, and beyond them were the ten remaining members of the Noble houses. Though not all the seats from Houses were filled, he noted some who should be there who were not such as the Weasley lord. Twenty seats beyond them occupied by the Order of Merlin members, although more than a few remained vacant. Finally on the highest row were the Heads of the Ministry Departments.

“Why did I get out of bed this early in the morning on a Saturday?” Lady Augusta, Regent Longbottom grumbled interrupting Greengrass’s thoughts. He looked across the House Black chair to the elderly woman.

“It must be important to have the whole Wizengamot out,” he drawled. Beyond Lady Longbottom, Marquess Theodore Selwyn gave him a wry grin. The older man rolled his eyes at Augusta’s complaining. Of the three remaining nobles of the Ancient and Noble Houses, Greengrass was the youngest yet held the highest title. A noise drew him to the other set of stands where the public gallery and reporters seats were. Several reporters had filtered in, though the public gallery was sparsely populated.

The murmuring got louder as the Minister of Magic entered, followed by Tiberius Ogden as the temporary Chief Warlock. Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, entered followed by Madam Bones, the head of the DMLE. The court scribe came next as the large wooden door closed behind them. Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic, took the central seat almost directly in front of Greengrass. While Ogden and Umbridge sat either side of him. Madam Bones stood in the centre of the chamber looking at the empty chair of the Accused. Fudge banged his gavel down, silencing the room.

“Good morning ladies and Gentlemen, Lords and Ladies, we are here today the Twelfth day of August Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Five to determine the guilt of Harry James Potter for the use of underage magic and breaking the Statute of Secrecy.” Fudge announced causing many to gasp. Greengrass looked on in interest, his morning had just got considerably more exciting.

“Hem hem.” Greengrass looked at the fat toad-like woman in annoyance.

“Yes, Delores.” Fudge said patiently.

“It seems the criminal has absconded, without even coming to his hearing,” a few murmurs ran through the crowd at the use of criminal.

“Ah, then we shall continue and lay the charges in the boy’s absence.” Fudge sounded almost gleeful. The noble remembered the Daily Prophet slandering the youth and wondered why they were deliberately going after a mere child, “You may lay down the charges, Madam Bones.”

“Harry James Potter is accused of using magic in front of one Dudley Dursely, a Muggle, on 10th July nineteen-ninety-five. As Mr Potter was only fourteen at the time he is underage and has also broken the Statute of Secrecy.” Bones concluded.

“As the…eh hem…accused is not here we shall vote in his absence, for the use of magic in front of a Mug-”

“Surely, Minister, I have a right to defend myself before you ask for a judgement,” a voice spoke up. Greengrass observed a teen entering beside a fair-haired, big-bellied man in a suit. The teen emanated power, he stood tall and wore a cloak of authority. His black hair was stylishly mussed, his green eyes sparkled with life, but his face was impassive, giving away nothing.

“Mr Potter?” a clearly confused Fudge asked. Greengrass sat up, now the party was starting.

“My client was directed elsewhere for his hearing, it is happenstance that we were here two hours early,” the blond man spoke, “Surely the Minister knows that it is illegal to not inform the accused of a change of venue without twenty-four hours notice.”

“I believe a notice was sent out,” Fudge blustered.

“Then it must have been the incompetence of your staff,” the man looked pointedly at Dolores Umbridge.

“Perhaps,” the Minister mumbled.

“Can you give us your name? Please, for the scribe.” Amelia Bones tried to get the trial back on track.

“Edward Tonks, Attorney of Law for Tonks & Black.” Ted replied cheerfully, “I shall be representing my client in his defence of these false charges.”

“Hem, hem.” Umbridge tried to interrupt proceedings again.

“Please save any comments until later, Senior Undersecretary.” Bones snapped, then turned back to the teen and his attorney. Just as the door behind them opened and Albus Dumbledore entered in robes of a deep purple with stars and moons on it.

“Witness for the defence Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.” Greengrass noticed the glare the teen gave toward the elderly Headmaster. He also noticed the Headmaster was exaggerating being out of breath like he had timed his entrance precisely.

“Ah Professor Dumbledore, my client and I do not require your assistance, but thank you for coming,” the man looked shocked before he managed to compose himself looking between the teen and the lawyer.

“In that case, Professor Dumbledore, you may take a seat in the public gallery so we may begin with proceedings.” Madam Bones interrupted the Headmaster before he could comment. Dumbledore was forced to enter the public gallery, something he did not like.

“Now, we can begin again. Are you Harry James Potter?”

“No,” the teen replied simply. Confusion reined through the court chambers as they stared at the teen.

“If you are not Harry Potter, then who are you?” Fudge cried angrily.

“My name is Lord Harry Anteres Black, 10th Marquess of Rendlesham, son of Sirius Black, 15th Duke of Anglia and the Heir Apparent of the Ancient and Noble House of Black.” Silence filled the chamber as the gravity of that sentence filled the room. Of the six Ancient and Noble houses, only three sat at the Wizengamot, Black until recently had been one of the oldest Houses and most influential.

“This is the first rebuttal of many that this trial is a farce. First, you are falsely accusing him of breaking the Statute of secrecy, then you cannot get my client’s name correct,” Ted Tonks added to Madam Bones. Greengrass tried not to let his grin become wider as he looked at the sickly look on the face of Dumbledore, Fudge and Umbridge. His plan was coming into fruition in ways he had not expected.

“I, erm, your current residence is 4 Privet Drive?” Bones was now out of sorts after the boy’s revelation.

“No, I currently live in Hárasteorra Hall, Seat of the House of Black.” Harry returned with a small smirk. His eyes darted up to look at Lucius Malfoy. The aristocrat was staring at his wife, who sat in the public gallery, wondering if she knew about the boy. Draco was expected to become the next Duke.

“I object!” Sir Lucius Malfoy now stood up. Fudge looked almost relieved.

“What is your objection?” Madam Bones knew she could not ignore one of the noble houses, even a lower one.

“This child is lying, firstly the last Duke of Anglia, His Grace Arcturus III died and did not leave an heir and secondly Sirius Black, a criminal, has never fathered a child,” the man answered smoothly.

“Afraid you won’t get your grubby little hands on the Black gold, Lucy.” Harry taunted the man. Ted leaned over and whispered something in his ear, causing the boy to nod and look down.

“Why you little brat.” Lucius snarled.

“Can you prove who you say you are?” Madam Bones asked.

“I can give you an authenticated copy of Lord Rendleham’s birth certificate.” Ted handed over a sheet of parchment, “And part of the Last Will and Testament of His Grace Arcturus Black III that names Sirius Black X as the next Duke of Anglia.”

“Sirius Black is a criminal that has killed twelve people, and a respected member of this community.” Fudge’s face went bright red. Harry noticed he gave a sidewards glance and knew he was looking for Malfoy. Dumbledore watched the Minister shrewdly, he thought he might be watching the downfall of Cornelius Fudge. The man had underestimated Harry, who appeared to be a very different boy from the one that had left Hogwart’s four weeks ago. Perhaps he would have to change some of his plans.

“I told you the truth last year, Minister Fudge, but you would instead let a dangerous criminal go free rather than admit the Ministry made a mistake before your time,” Harry told the Minister even giving him a lifeline. But Fudge’s head was too far up Malfoys……, Harry thought as the man growled.

“You are a lying, attention-seeking child,” he snarled. The Wizengamot was silent, entranced by the back and forth between the Boy Who Lived and the Minister of Magic. Harry simply ignored the Minister turning to Madam Bones.

“My father was not given a trial when he was arrested. I have evidence that Peter Pettigrew is, in fact, alive and well. He was also the Secret Keeper for my parent’s Fidelius Charm,” Harry explained, but added with a slight glance at Dumbledore, “Though why they left the safety of James Potter’s home is anyone’s guess.”

“This will stop now, I shall not have you bringing up old cases.” Fudge demanded.

“Madam Bones, we are trying to establish a pattern that my client is not a liar, but has been slandered and tried unfairly in a case that should not have come this far,” Ted explained to the Head of the DMLE. The stern woman looked him over and nodded.

“Chief Warlock, to refute any of these claims I shall need some time to look into Mr Black’s trial.”

“In that case, I shall call a two-hour recess,” Tiberius Ogden stated, “In the meantime, we shall contact Gringott’s to verify the birth certificate and the Will of Arcturus Black III.” He banged the gavel down, allowing the noise to return to the court, Madam Bones began to speak to a couple of Aurors as Ted Tonks approached her.

“Madam Bones, I believe it’ll be a feeding frenzy out there, have you got anywhere young Lord Rendlesham and I could stay?”

“Of course, you can use my court office,” she led them through a door below the central stands into a corridor. She had soon opened a door ushering them inside, “I shall have two of my Aurors outside for your safety,”

“Thank you.” Ted gave the woman a warm smile as she left, closing the door behind her. Ted waved his wand around uttering an incantation, putting up a privacy ward, “Well done Harry, you were a lot more restrained than I thought you would,”

“Fudge is an idiot, I can’t believe I blindly followed Dumbledore to not openly disagreeing with the man.”

“You did have a lot of compulsion charm’s on you,” Ted pointed out.

“Do you think we’ll free Sirius….erm, Dad?” Ted chuckled at the boy.

“It’s only been a few weeks since you discovered the truth, Sirius still hasn’t got his memories back yet, so I think he’ll forgive you for not calling him Dad straight away,”

“When’s the potion finished?” asked Harry anxiously.

“Andromeda told me about eight more days until the potion matures, then hopefully we’ll be able to restore your fathers’ memories. You have to remember it may not work, he was stuck in Azkaban for a long time,”

“Were you watching Duke Caernarfonshire?” Harry changed the subject abruptly.

“He certainly found the proceedings fascinating,” Ted answered.

“I wonder what prompted him to contact Sirius,” Harry mused, “Do you think he knew about the Contract?”

“I’m not sure, Sirius only discovered it when he took the Head of House ring and opened up the Black vaults. You have to remember the contract is hundreds of years old,”

Nearly an hour had passed when a knock sounded on the door, Ted looked at Harry before dropping the privacy Ward. The older man opened the door to find Minister Fudge, Tiberius Ogden and Madam Bones waiting.

“May we speak to you?” the Minister sounded almost reluctant as Ted allowed them to enter the office.

“What can we do for you fine folks?” Ted asked.

“We have found no evidence of a trial for Sirius Black in 1981, only the transfer document to Azkaban signed by Minister Bagnold, Bartimus Crouch and Albus Dumbledore.” Madam Bones explained, Harry tried not to smirk as the woman continued, “However, this does not prove Black is innocent.”

“I am willing to rescind the Kiss on Sight order,” Fudge offered them.

“What about this trial?” Ted looked between the three of them.

“He performed underage magic in front of a Muggle,” the Minister argued.

“To defend his cousin against Dementors,” Ted replied, “We can offer you memories, and Lord Rendlesham is willing to be tried under Veritaserum,”

“No!” Fudge cried causing the others to look at him surprised, “That will not be necessary, you shall be declared innocent of all charges if you just provide the memories to Madam Bones.”

“What about my father?” Harry asked petulantly.

“We still need to discover his guilt or innocence, you said you were sure of his innocence?” Madam Bones asked. Harry looked to Ted who nodded, so the boy launched into the tale of the night in the Third Year he discovered Sirius Black was innocent.

“-So Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger and Remus Lupin also witnessed Peter Pettigrew alive and well confessing to betraying my mother and James Potter,” Harry finished as Fudge shared a look with Madam Bones, “What?”

“Unfortunately we cannot rely on Remus Lupin’s testimony, as a Werewolf he has no legal standing,” Bones explained causing Harry to utter several expletives.

“Severus Snape claimed the children were all confounded,” Fudge added.

“But you could check them for charms such as those,” Ted replied.

“It would have worn off after a year,” Madam Bones said sadly.

“If we could have my father come here, offering up his memories and going under Veritaserum, would you be able to promise his safety?” Harry asked.

“I would have to make sure my Aurors were here, but I promise on my honour, Sirius Black would be safe,” Madam Bones told him firmly looking at the Chief Warlock and the Minister who nodded. Fudge knew his career rested on this boy; Lucius Malfoy and his money be damned.

“What is the Floo name of the office?” Harry asked.

“DMLE Court office,” the trio looked at the boy expectantly as he pulled out his wand. He thought of the moment that Sirius had told him he could live with him permanently.

“EXPECTO PATRONUM,” He shouted, and with a smirk, a giant raven erupted, glowing bright blue, from the end of his wand, “Go to Sirius Black and tell him ‘If you can get to a Floo come to the DMLE Court Office, you will be safe, I have the word of Madam Bones’”

“I had reports your Patronus was a Stag,” Ogden settled on the edge the desk, his old bones weary.

“It has recently changed, I had some restrictions on my magic for my safety as a child, but they were released, and I took up my legacy, so my Patronus changed,” Harry answered, strengthing his somewhat weak Occlumency shields. He did not know if any of the three were skilled Legilimens, but he didn’t want to find out. Madam Bones stuck her head out of the door ordering a Pensieve, then the presence of two Aurors. Minutes later, a tall, dark-skinned man entered carrying a wide stone bowl with strange symbols and runes upon it. Behind him was another Auror, with a heart-shaped face and bright purple hair. She winked at Harry before composing her face to appear impassive.

“Can I have you memories of that night?” Madam Bones asked so Ted took his wand as Harry concentrated on the memory drawing out a blob of silvery liquid. He placed it in the Pensieve for the three to observe. The Aurors watched over the senior Wizengamot members as they entered the memory.

Ogden, Bones and Minister Fudge emerged from the memory as flames lit up the fireplace, going from red to a deep green. Then a tall man stepped out of the fireplace. This was not the Sirius Black they had seen in the Pensieve, here was a man with neat black hair tidied into a ponytail. His face was fuller, but his eyes still looked haunted. He wore robes of the most expensive Acromantula silk in black with the House of Black crest on his left breast.

“Madam Bones, Minister Fudge, Tiberius,” he nodded to each of the three senior figures.

“Harry Pott…erm, Black has offered evidence that you are innocent of killing twelve Muggles, one wizard and betraying James and Lily Potter.” Black winced at Lily’s name, “However, even this is not enough evidence to find you completely innocent, we would like your memories of the night James and Lily Potter were killed, as well the night of your apprehension.”

“I would also like to hear the story of why you changed Secret Keepers,” Tiberius added.

“James and I were best friends.” Black began leaning against the fireplace, the Aurors watching him wearily, “I was his best man at his wedding, but for some reason, they decided to leave Potter House after being heavily influenced by Albus Dumbledore. They first approached me to be their Secret Keeper. However, after lots of talks, I convinced them I was not the best choice as I was too well known.

“You see our other friend, Remus Lupin, was off in Europe talking to Werewolves. We thought he might have been a spy so we turned to Peter Pettigrew, who was so unassuming, frightened of his own shadow that no one would think he was the Secret Keeper.” Black continued, “Albus Dumbledore performed the Fidelius Charm that allowed Peter to be the Secret Keeper.”

“Albus knew Peter was the Secret Keeper?” Bones looked astonished.

“He performed the charm. The night of their death, I knew something was not right,” Black shuddered with the pain of events that followed. Ted performed the same duty and extracted the memories for the Pensieve. Harry become bored as the three went into the Pensieve to see the memories. Sirius gave the boy a smile, not seeing the looks he was getting from his cousin Nymphadora Tonks.

“Well, that certainly puts the kneazle amongst the bowtruckles.” Madam Bones uttered as they emerged from the Pensieve.

“This will ruin the ministry,” Fudge muttered, “allowing an innocent, an Ancient and Noble House member to go to Azkaban. I’ll be run out of office,”

“Minister, I would be willing to do a press conference with you, explaining that the previous administration was to blame and that you are righting a terrible wrong,” Sirius said carefully. Amelia Bones, an old friend of Sirius’s, looked at him shrewdly wondering what kind of prank he was playing.

“I see,” Fudge’s eyes lit up, the two Black’s could see the calculating look in them.

“I would even allow any compensation from the government to stay in your coffers, perhaps as a donation toward the DMLE,” Black spoke again.

“We do need some more Aurors,” Fudge suggested, getting a shocked look from Madam Bones.

“However, there is a caveat,” Black looked at the Minister, as the room seemed to darken, “The Ministry will have to stop going after my son,”

“I was not party to these slanderous comments,” Fudge replied licking his lips nervously, “I will put a stop to them,”

“See that you do, now I must return home and get ready for the press conference. Shall we say 1pm?” Black told him then disappeared into the Floo network.

“Right, perhaps we could announce this all then,” Ogden spoke up.

“Go to the courtroom before us, we shall come out of a different way.” Bones recommended. Harry nodded at the three and followed Ted back into the corridor before emerging into the courtroom. The two stands opposite the Wizengamot stand was now full, reporters took up half, but some wizards and witches had heard about the trial. Harry held his head high as he took the seat of the Accused once again with Ted by his side. He noticed Dolores Umbridge observing him, a calculating look upon her face. He did not dare turn his head to look at Dumbledore. The court’s noise stopped when Madam Bones, Chief Warlock Ogden and Minister Fudge entered, the latter two taking their seats in the stands.

“In light of some new evidence, the Chief Warlock, the Minister and I have made some decisions.” Madam Bones announced to the surprise of many of the Wizengamot.

“This trial should not have gone this far, Lord Harry Anteres Black used the Patronus charm to defend his cousin, who was well aware of magic thus countering the Statute of Secrecy,” Chief Ogden declared, “His defence is allowed under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, so Lord Rendlesham has been found innocent of all crimes,” 

“Recently the escaped convict Sirius Black has been hunted down to atone for his crimes, it has been discovered the previous administration made many mistakes, and Duke Black was innocent of the charges laid against him.” Minister Fudge continued from the Chief Warlock, causing uproar in the courtroom. Madam Bones had to use her wand to cause a loud bang to get order once again, “His Grace, The Duke of Anglia, submitted himself to the DMLE an hour ago and was pardoned of all crimes, he has graciously donated any compensation to the DMLE.”

“Thank you for your attendance, Court dismissed,” Chief Warlock Ogden finished the court session, leaving quickly ignoring all the questions that were being thrown at the three. Cyrus Greengrass settled back in his chair, observing Harry, somehow he had managed to get the trial thrown out and declare his father innocent. The Black’s were genuinely formidable. Ted began leading the boy out of courtroom only for Albus Dumbledore to scramble after them in an almost undignified way.

“Harry, Harry, my boy,” Harry stopped before turning to look at the elderly Headmaster who either missed or ignored the cold look on the Fifteen-year-old’s face.

“I am not your boy!” Harry snapped back, “You call everyone else by their surnames, yet you are overly familiar with me, from now on you may address me as Lord Rendlesham,”

Dumbledore stared at the retreating back of the young teen, wondering what had happened to him in just four weeks. As he left himself, he began to wonder if any of his spells had been discovered, but shook his head, they were too well hidden. But how did Harry discover his true parentage, when Albus Dumbledore had gone to great lengths to hide it from him.

“That damn boy is going to be the ruin of me,” Fudge raged staring into the fireplace, “How could your Dementor plan not work?”

“It should have worked,” Umbridge simpered, “But it seems Black somehow got to the boy, his Grandfather was a bastard too, neither light nor dark but ruled with an iron fist,”

“I am going to lose my career and all the _donations_ I earned, why did the Prophet articles not work?” the Minister asked, almost to himself.

“What happened?” Umbridge asked, sure sending Dementors to Little Whinging would have got Potter ridiculed and expelled, if not outright killed.

“I was pinned into a corner, Tiberius Ogden and Amelia Bones were there as well as two Aurors, after viewing the memories I could not continue the court case or risk more lies spewing from his mouth.” Minister Fudge replied, “Malfoy assured me He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is not back, Dumbledore must be making a play for this office,”

“Dumbledore is an old fool, his muggle-loving ways would not secure him the Ministry.” Umbridge sneered, “What you need is someone close to Dumbledore to find out what he is planning next.”

“Dolores, you are a genius!” Fudge lit up, the toad-like woman smiled though she was unsure of the sudden praise, “Dumbledore cannot find another Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.”

“You need someone to be the Defence teacher,” Umbridge caught on quickly.

“Exactly, if we can tear out his power base, Dumbledore will be nothing,” Fudge replied with glee, “You are my most trusted ally, I will send you in to ruffle some feathers,”

“Me?” Umbridge squeaked, she did not want to teach disgusting Mudbloods or half-bloods. Children, in general, disgusted her.

“Yes, I want Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore destroyed by any means possible.” Fudge looked almost maniacal, but Umbridge, if she had a heart, might just have been a little bit in love with the man then.


	2. Two: Harry Demented

_Four weeks Earlier_

England had seen some of it’s hottest weather on record at the end of June and beginning of July. In Little Whinging, where the gardens were usually pristine, now they looked yellowed and dry. Cars were dusty from the hosepipe ban, and houses had all the windows flung open to catch any chance of a breeze. Shops had sold out of fans, everyone was desperate for a bit of cold air. Harry Potter had found a bit of coolness on the dry earth beneath the living room window, he had been home a week from Hogwart’s Witchcraft and Wizardry. After Lord Voldemort’s resurrection and Cedric Diggory’s death, Harry had been waiting to hear the news every night.

He had not been getting the Daily Prophet nor had he heard from his friends since he left Platform Nine and Three quarters.

“Last but certainly not least, the wildlife has been going crazy this week. Owls have been seen all during the day. Usually, owls are active at night and sleep through the night, but people have reported seeing them during the day including one sighting of an Eagle Owl,” the reporter finished with a chuckle.

“I bet that’s to do with _his_ lot,” Vernon Dursley murmured.

“Vernon, the windows,” Petunia hissed.

“Sorry, love.” With the news finished, Harry carefully rolled out from the bush, dusting himself off. Knowing he did not want to return to the house, he walked away from Four Privet Drive toward a local park. He walked through a small car park swinging the metal gate open. Above him, a bypass over the river took cars and lorries away from the Surrey town of Little Whinging. On the other side lie fields of gold blowing gently in a small breeze that had kicked up. Harry took a seat on one of the swings, swinging back and forth to get a little more air to himself. His mind seemed an absolute mess, jumping from seeing Peter Pettigrew to Lord Voldemort’s resurrection until it all jumbled into one. However, his head shot up as a twig snapped nearby.

“Now I’m getting paranoid,” Harry mumbled to himself as he relaxed his grip on his wand in the waistband of his jeans. He was just about to return to his thoughts when a scream pierced the air. Harry stood suddenly running toward the disturbance, it sounded like a young child. Hermione would say his ‘saving lives’ thing had swung into action as he ran across to the other side of the park. Harry immediately spotted Dudley Dursley, his rotund cousin, Piers Polkiss, Gordon, and Malcolm, cornering a small child. He vaulted a second fence, as he got closer he could see it was Mark Evans, a local ten-year-old lad.

“Leave him alone,” anger crept into his voice, he hated bullies. Dudley’s three friends turned and sneered at the skinny, bespectacled boy. However, Dudley had a look of concern on his face, “Hey dudders, wotcher doing?”

“Get lost, _freak_ ,” Dudley got his nerve back.

“Are you beating on a small kid again?” Harry asked, almost politely.

“He deserves it.” Dudley sneered.

“Leave it alone, Potter,” Piers Polkiss told him, but he reminded Harry of the cowardly Peter Pettigrew, causing his anger to grow.

“I told you to let Mark go,” Harry repeated menacingly, pulling his wand from his waistband. Dudley suddenly stood stock still, knowing precisely what Harry was holding.

“What are you going to do? Poke our eyes out,” Piers laughed, getting laughs from the other two gorillas, but Dudley watched him carefully. The wind began to pick up, branches tearing at their trunks as coldness crept across Harry.

“What are you doing, Freak? You can’t do anything in front of my friends,” Dudley shouted as his friends ran off, terrified. Harry hauled Mark up.

“Run, go toward the houses,” he pushed him in the opposite direction as he began running for the bridge under the bypass. Dudley, despite his dimness, knew to stay close to Harry. It grew colder and colder as Harry started to hear screams echoing in his mind. Why were there Dementors in Little Whinging? Just as they reached the bridge, two Dementors appeared, hovering over them like whinged forms of death.

“EXPECTO PATRONUM,” he cried out, but all happy thoughts had left Harry’s mind. Only a whisp emanated from the wand as it drew closer to him, slimy hands emerging from the cloak wrapping themselves around Harry’s neck, pulling him closer to the empty void. The smell was unbearable, was one of the last thoughts Harry had before he slipped into semi-consciousness. However, as the Dementor began to draw the soul from his body, a small explosion seemed to occur. Magical energy burst from Harry driving the Dementor back.

The Dementor did not stay away for long, returning to his feast when an ethereal dog ran at it, barking silently. The creature flew away from Harry to join its partner before they disappeared altogether.

“Pup, Pup, can you hear me?” Harry was falling in and out of consciousness, thinking he was dreaming, “How’s the other one?”

“He’ll be fine, not sure he had a soul, to begin with,” a second masculine voice sounded.

“Let’s get him home,”

“You can’t take him there, Dumbeldore will discover his presence,” the second voice sounded panicked.

“You get the other boy home, I will take Harry to the Hall,” At those words, Harry fell into full unconsciousness.

“Do you think it’s right, keeping him from Dumbledore?” a familiar voice asked, as Harry began to return to the living.

“I don’t trust Dumbledore, you know the charms that the Goblins found on me. We don’t know if the latest ones were from Molly or Albus,” a second voice replied. Why were they talking about Mrs Weasley and Professor Dumbledore? Harry lazily thought.

“You saw the letters.”

“I did-I think he might be coming around,” a masculine voice started, concern tinging the tone. Harry blinked a few times, the bright light receding until he looked up at a blue roof. Though that was blurry, as he began to feel the soft pillows and sheets, he lay in. The bed was world’s away from his one at Four Privet Drive or even Hogwarts.

“Glasses?” Harry uttered, his throat parched and slightly sore.

“Oh yeah,” Sirius voice, he now recognised it, spoke handing him his round always-broken glasses.

“Water.” He gasped. Sirius handed him a glass with a straw in it as his brain began to function. He glanced around the room. Harry lay in a four-poster bed similar to those in Hogwart’s without all the drapings. The room was blue as he had first thought, with constellations mapped out on the ceiling. The young teen noticed a desk and bookcase then two doors opposite his bed. Leaning against the bed was Remus Lupin, former Professor of Hogwarts. Sirius was kneeling by the side of the bed looking at him worriedly.

“How ya doing, pup?”

“Like I’ve been hit by a ten-ton truck,” Harry replied, feeling sore all over, “Where am I?”

“You are in Hárasteorra Hall, the Black family mansion,” Sirius replied, sharing a look with Remus.

“What am I doing here?”

“Do you remember anything?” Remus asked.

“The last thing I remember is being attacked by Dementor, is Dudley alright?” Harry asked, almost frantically.

“First thing he asks is about his cousin,” Sirius snorted, then turned back to Harry, “As you were being attacked, there was a small magical explosion, which almost made the Dementor flee. Remus and I rescued you when the Dementor returned,”

“We have an inkling as to why that happened,” Remus suggested before Harry could question either one of them. “However, you have been asleep for nearly two days.”

“When I was waking up, I heard you say something about charm’s.” Remus looked to Sirius not sure how to proceed.

“A day after I met you at Hogwart’s, I visited Gringott’s on the advice of a friend, a lot happened, which I shall tell you about later. However, the main point is, the Goblins found several charms layered on me.”

“Can they be removed? Have I got Charms on me?” Harry asked, slightly hysterically.

“Firstly, Sirius had his removed. Secondly, I can try a spell that will detect any charms or potions, on or about your potions,” Remus tried to calm the teen down.

“You’re a Defence teacher, how do you know these charms? Can you remove them?” Remus chuckled at the boy.

“I have travelled a fair bit, I’m sure the spell I use, not even Dumbledore would know.” That comment earned Remus a frown from Sirius. “But yes, I know of spells and potions that allow charms to be removed from you,”

“Before we do that, we had better give him the letters,” Sirius suggested handing over the letters. Harry opened the first, which appeared to be official:

_Dear Mr Potter,_

_We have received intelligence that you performed the Patronus Charm at twenty-three minutes past six this evening in a Muggle-inhabited area and in the presence of a Muggle. The severity of this breach of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery has resulted in your expulsion from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Ministry representatives will be calling at your place of residence shortly to destroy your wand._

_As you have already received an official warning for a previous offence under section 13 of the International Confederation of Wizards’ Statute of Secrecy, we regret to inform you that your presence is required at a disciplinary hearing at the Ministry of Magic at 9 a.m. on 12th August._

_Hoping you are well,_

_Yours sincerely,_

_Mafalda Hopkirk_

_Improper use of magic office_

_Ministry of Magic_

Harry read and re-read the letter, then looked at his quasi-uncles.

“So that’s it then, I’m expelled from Hogwart’s. Did officials come around to snap my wand?”

“Read, the next two first before you get down,” Sirius suggested. Harry ripped open the next letter instantly recognising the handwriting of Arthur Weasley.

_Harry — Dumbledore’s just arrived at the Ministry, and he’s trying to sort it all out. DO NOT LEAVE YOUR AUNT AND UNCLE’S HOUSE. DO NOT DO ANY MORE MAGIC. DO NOT SURRENDER YOUR WAND._

_Arthur Weasley_

Harry’s wasn’t sure what to make of the letter, he had already been gone from the house at that point. He wondered what Dumbledore was up to as he took up the next letter.

_Dear Mr Potter,_

_Further to our letter of approximately twenty-two minutes ago, the Ministry of Magic has revised its decision to destroy your wand forthwith. You may retain your wand until your disciplinary hearing on 12th August, at which time an official decision will be taken._

_Following discussions with the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the Ministry has agreed that the question of your expulsion will also be decided at that time. You should therefore consider yourself suspended from school pending further inquiries. With best wishes,_

_Yours sincerely,_

_Mafalda Hopkirk_

_Improper use of magic office_

_Ministry of Magic_

“So I’ve not been expelled, I only have to attend a disciplinary hearing?” Harry asked.

“Firstly, there should not have been any type of hearing at all. Secondly, we will fight this. You were protecting your cousin, who is well aware of magic. I will hire the best lawyer, money can buy,” Sirius suggested.

“How can you hire a lawyer? You’re still a criminal,” Harry asked, confused.

“Erm, I’ll tell you about that later, when you’ve got a bit more strength,” his godfather returned, “But we thought you should see the letters, maybe send your own message to Dumbeldore at least to say you are safe, the Order is going mental at the moment we didn’t expect you to be asleep as long.”

“The Order? Why are they going mental, where am I exactly?” Harry suddenly appeared nervous, “What did you give me for the Christmas of the third year?”

“A Firebolt, but why-“ Harry interrupted him as he looked at Remus.

“What was in your office the first time I came there?” Harry stared at his one-time professor.

“A Grindylow!” Remus returned, Harry slumping down in the bed, “I can see what you were doing, after Fake-moody you were checking to see if we were the real people,”

“Well I’m in a strange place, I have no idea where I am, and now I’ve been given letters saying I’m expelled from Hogwart’s,”

“I can understand,” Remus sympathised with the teen.

“Look we’ve taken you to Hárasteorra Hall, it’s the seat of power for the House of Black. I own several other properties including a house in London the Order of Phoenix are using,” Sirius explained.

“The Order of Phoenix?” Harry interrupted.

“Back in the first war, and now in this war, the Ministry has refused to do much to quell the rising darkness. Mostly because a lot of pure-bloods sat on the Wizengamot and believed Voldemort’s rhetoric,” Remus went into lecture mode, “Professor Dumbledore created the Order of Phoenix, a guerilla group to fight the Death Eaters. Your Mother and father were both apart of the group as were many others,

“Mary McKinnon, Frank and Alice Longbottom, Holly Du Vere,” Sirius’s face looked conflicted at the last name. Harry looked at Remus and mouthed ‘Holly Du Vere?’, but Remus returned with a ‘later’, “But Dumbledore is all about stunning and forgiveness,”

“That doesn’t help when a Death Eater is raping a child!” Harry snarled.

“I agree exactly, and many current members feel the same way, but one of their main tasks were guarding you,”

“Excuse me! What do you mean? Guarding me.” Harry’s anger looked fit to burst.

“Dumbledore felt you needed to be guarded, so many of the Order’s members rotated guarding you.”

“Well they certainly did not do a very good job, did they?” Harry asked rhetorically, before ranting, “Why haven’t I got letters from my friends? Where was the ‘guard’ when I was attacked by dementors?”

“Neither of us can answer those questions, but I suspect the answer lies with Dumbledore,” Sirius returned bitterly. Something had happened between his godfather and the Headmaster.

“You’ve had a lot of information thrown at you, why don’t we check you for any charms?” Remus asked gently and received a nod. He waved his wand around, muttering in old Latin as a light emanated from around the teen going from white to purple, to red, then brown. Harry watched as Remus’s face got angrier and angrier, then he finally swore, “Goddammit,”

“What?”

“Firstly, he has a mild loyalty charm keyed to Ronald Weasley and seems to have ingested a love potion, which I think is keyed to Ginny Weasley. Those are just the newer charms,” Remus explained tightly, “He’s got charms that make him dislike the Slytherin’s especially Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape,”

“Similar to what I had,” Sirius muttered.

“There’s something to dim his intelligence, make him more rash. Harry will never be Stephen Hawking, but he should be doing better in all his subjects,” Remus gave the boy a grin, “But, there are two signatures I can make out, I think,”

“Let me guess, Albus Dumbledore and Molly Weasley,” Black deadpanned.

“I’ve also found the remnants of a block on your magic, it seemed to be keyed to part of your magic, but I’m not entirely sure what part,” Remus added with a dangerous growl.

“Do you think it’s the Potter Family magic?” Sirius asked.

“It could be, but it would have to be someone supremely skilled to even find and separate that part of Harry’s magic,”

“Can we remove the charms?” Harry was suddenly outraged, not only had Dumbledore put a block on him now he had used several charms to keep him docile. Why the hell had he been placed with the Dursleys? Was that because of Dumbledore too?

“I can remove the charms, but it may exhaust you. Also, we can purge you of the potions, but it won’t be pretty,”

“Do it!” Harry commanded. Remus nodded, then retrieved a potions vial. Standing once again before Harry he began to chant in a language Harry was unfamiliar with. But he felt like his skin was being ripped off and his head was about to explode. Sirius had to hold him down as the werewolf continued. Finally, after ten long minutes, it was over, and Harry was left panting feeling even worse than before.

“Are sure you want to continue?” Remus double-checked. The teen just nodded as Remus administered the potion. As he predicted, the results were not pretty. Sirius had to use several re-hydration charms and some nutrient charms to ease his stomach, but it ended over an hour later leaving Harry absolutely exhausted.

When Harry next awoke, the mid-afternoon sun flooded the room, but he felt much better. Just as the teen sat up, Sirius strode through the door. Harry looked him over, noting that his godfather looked so much better than when they had been in Dumbledore’s office. His face wasn’t as gaunt, nor did he look skeletal.

“Harry?” the man looked at him questioningly.

“Hi, Sirius, I feel much better,” the teen replied with a smile, testing his feet as he stood up.

“Erm, you look a bit different,” Sirius looked startled, “You look like my Grandfather, Arcturus, except with green eyes,”

“Really?” Harry appeared to be surprised as he opened one of the doors to find a bathroom. He entered the white-tiled room until he stood in front of the mirror. His hair lay slightly flatter on his head (he had grown it longer like his godfather), but his face appeared narrower, almost aristocratic, “Why would I have a glamour over me? I assume it’s a glamour.”

“A very strong one, one that grew with you,” Sirius leaned against the door, “Well that’s a problem for another day. Shall we take a tour of the house? There are some clothes in the cupboard for you,”

“What do you mean clothes in the cupboard?” Harry looked perplexed.

“Well I thought this would be your room,” Sirius replied rubbing his neck, “If you would like it,”

“I, erm, really?”

“I’m not promising anything, but I’ve taken the Head of the Black Family, I’ll contact lawyers to see about getting a trial or something,” Sirius suggested, “I was hoping you’d want to live with me,”

“Of course I do,” Harry hugged the older man, who appeared more mature than the last time he had seen him. After getting changed into a pair of jeans that fitted, and a sweater he found Sirius stood outside.

“So Hárasteorra Hall is close to the village of Hárasteorra, I suppose they all think we are a little bit eccentric here, though I haven’t been here in years,” the man explained standing in the courtyard. The whole ‘manor’ was one big square, but he couldn’t help but look up at the two tall towers. Sirius realised what he was looking at. “Those are the sleeping quarters.”

“Manor?” Harry whispered as they started outside. Hárasteorra Hall could only be described as a Fortified Manor. Sirius led them across a bridge, the manor was surrounded by a moat, then out onto the extensive grounds. Sirius showed him around the stables, which housed Buckbeak and several horses, which Sirius promised Harry that he would teach him to ride.

“Can Mundanes not see Buckbeak and the like?” Harry asked as they walked away from the stables.

“No, there are Anti-Mundane charms around, makes them forget what they see,” Sirius explained. There were gardens, including a beautiful Rose garden with the statue of a lovely woman.

“That’s my grandmother, Melania,” Sirius explained, then went on to tell Harry about the Black Family. “The Black’s had always served the Wuffingas dynasty in the Kingdom of the Angles, serving as his Wizard council. When East Anglia become part of England under Edward, it became an earldom under Sirius the First. He based himself here and built the first Hall. Sirius’s son became the first Duke of Anglia. When the statute of Secrecy came into force in 1692, many thought the title had become extant, and the Duke of Norfolk become the oldest dukedom.”

“Is that what happened to most titled wizards?” Harry asked.

“Most wizards who hold titles, hold the titles thought gone for good. We are still Peerages in the Royal books, but we don’t sit in normal Mundane society.” Sirus replied, “However, in the last hundred years, our great history has been corrupted by those that would side with the darker side of our society. The motto ‘Always Pure’ was once Domus est, Pura Semper, Always pure to the house.”

“You have a Quidditch Pitch?” Harry asked excitedly, walking straight past the Greenhouses.

“It’s not a Quidditch Pitch as such, but a place to play,” Sirius pointed to the hoops at either end of the freshly mowed grass lawn. Sirius led them back onto the bridge and into the manor, where down one arm was a Great Hall for entertaining visitors with the parlour used as the Floo room. The pair went down to the basement first, which held a storeroom, Potions chamber and a training room. The final room was the Warsdstone room, which had a massive chunk of stone that glistened black.

“This is the Ward stone, it holds all the power of the family and anchors the Wards to protect the Manor against invasion.” Harry could feel the magic coming off the stone, humming at their proximity. Back on the main floor was a Kitchen where five elves, all wearing suits (Though they looked uncomfortable), stood.

“You have elves?” Harry looked at the older man, knowing how Hermione would feel about that.

“I have several elves beholden to me, as Head Black. This is Elkley, Steward Elf of the Black’s, meaning he is in charge of all the other Elves,”

“I is pleased to meet you, Master Harry,” This elf was slightly taller than the others and appeared a bit more dignified.

“Why do they look so uncomfortable?”

“When I took over I did not like seeing them in tea towels, so made them create their own suits or dresses,” Sirius shrugged, then turned to look at another much younger elf on the end of the line. “This is Nyal, he will be your personal house-elf.”

“My house-elf?” Harry asked, looking at the creature, the young house-elf reminded him a little of Dobby. His big rounded eyes looked at Harry with gratitude, which quickly turned to confusion. The elf turned to look at the steward elf.

“Master, Nyal feels Master Harry has a bond with an elf,” Elkley spoke up.

“Harry, have you bonded with an elf before?” Sirius asked curiously.

“No, not that I am aware of,” Harry was confused, then he thought of Dobby. “There is a house-elf, I helped free from Malfoy Snr.”

“Can you call him?” Harry nodded.

“Dobby!” with a loud crack Dobby appeared before him. He was wearing a child’s Christmas jumper and what appeared to be rugby shorts. He had a pair of colourful socks on his feet under some child-sized wellies.

“You is a bad elf!” Nyal burst out, then promptly covered his mouth. Dobby looked between the other elves and the two humans.

“He has bonded with you, Master Harry,” Elkley told them.

“I is sorry, Master Harry, but you has strong magic,” Harry looked to Sirius.

“If a house-elf is freed, their magic begins to dwindle. They are symbiotic with wizards or witches,” Sirius explained.

“Then why is Dobby alive?”

“Well he had the bond with you, but working at Hogwart’s probably helped.” Sirius looked down at the elf, “you will join the Black Household, serving as Harry’s Personal Elf. Nyal will assist you.”

“Thank you, Sir,” His big eyes filled with tears of happiness. Sirius shook his head as Dobby began to find out his duties from the steward-elf. The man started leading Harry once more from the kitchen, past the study, drawing room and library to one of the two towers. Besides’s Harry’s, Sirius’ Master Suite and Remus’s room plus a Children’s suite included a nursery, playroom, and children’s bedroom. In the other tower were six other rooms divided between the three floors.

Finally, he led them back to the ‘Duke’s Study’ as he named it; it held a large desk with a comfortable leather chair opposite a large fireplace. Above the fireplace was a stern-looking man in a large painting.

“Who is this?” the painting snapped.

“This is my godson, Harry,” Sirius introduced the teen to the painting. 

“You look like you have Black blood, is he related to you?”

“No, Arcturus, but his grandmother was a Black,” Padfoot answered, “Harry this is my grandfather, Arcturus III,”

“Pleased to meet you,” Harry spoke politely as Sirius ignored the portrait. He placed his hand on the fireplace. A hidden door popped open, allowing the man to reach in to withdraw a large book.

“This is the Wardbook, the most recent pages allow those on it entry through the Wards; be it floo, apparition or through the front gates,” He laid the book on the table allowing Harry to see it. Each page was finely ruled columns with titles such as family, friend, one-time entry (with a date and time next to this). On the most recent pages, he saw the latest Black’s had been scratched out of family except for Andromeda Tonks, Edward Tonks, Nymphadora Tonks, and Remus Lupin. He noticed Dumbledore had been scratched off viciously.

“Have you fallen out with Dumbledore?” Harry asked, looking at his godfather.

“Let’s just say, I’m learning a few truth’s about the Old Goat, that makes him look less favourable,” Sirius eventually spoke, before closing the Wardbook and hiding it away again. Harry said goodbye to the portrait and followed Sirius out toward a vast library, where they found Remus sitting in front of floor to ceiling window overlooking the grounds. Harry and Sirius took a seat next to the old werewolf.

“So what do you think?” Remus asked.

“It’s fantastic!”

“So I bet you have lot’s of questions, don’t you?”

“Yeah, so many, but I’ll start with; How did you get here? Last time I spoke to you, you hated your family,”

“I dislike my family, but I am still very loyal to the Black name,” Sirius pointed out, “After I spoke to you at Hogwart’s I returned to Grimmauld Place where I had been staying with Buckbeak. However, when I returned, there was a letter for me.”

Sirius now handed over a piece of parchment allowing Harry to look at it in surprise. It was written by a Cyrus Greengrass. _I wonder if he’s related to Daphne Greengrass,_ Harry wondered.

_Your Grace,_ (He filed that away for later)

_Since you escaped from prison, I have been expecting you to appear at the Wizengamot either under trial or taking up the Black Seat. However, it has been a year since then, so I felt it’s time to take up your legacy. Don’t ask how I know, but your Grandfather Arcturus had a Will where you were named heir and next Head of Black._

_As you are innocent, I’m assuming you should be able to take up Head of House’s mantle. This will help protect your godson._

_I hope to be speaking to you soon._

_Cyrus Greengrass._

_Duke of Caernarfonshire_

_Head of the Greengrass family._

“What do you think he wants? There’s a girl called Daphne Greengrass in my year at school.”

“That’s his eldest daughter. The Greengrasses’s have been typically neutral, but it is one of the six Ancient and Noble houses that have a lot of influence on the Wizengamot,”

“About that, what the hell are the Ancient and Noble Houses, and why are you a Duke?” Harry asked.

“That’s a long one, but the short version is before the Magical community split with the mundanes the Wizengamot was made up of the Wizard Council, which at the time was made up of most Nobles, they were tiered. The eldest was the Ancient and Noble Houses, then the Ancient Houses, then the Noble Houses, finally the lowest Houses were the Greater houses, but they weren’t on the Wizengamot,” Remus explained taking over from Sirius, “The Head of the houses were Titled from Duke at the highest to Baronet at the lowest,”

“The Black’s are one of the oldest families, we have run or helped run Britain for thousands of years, though it has degenerated the last hundred years I plan to bring House of Black to its former glory,” Sirius promised. 

“So why do I need protecting?” Harry asked, seeing Remus and Sirius sharing a look between them.

“Go on,” Sirius nudged his friend. Remus got up, walking over to a table where there were several newspapers. He bought them back over, throwing them on the table in front of the teen. Harry picked up the first, his eyes widening at the headlines

**POTTER: A LIAR OR ATTENTION SEEKING**

**DUMBLEDORE’S LOST THE PLOT: SAYS YOU-KNOW-WHO HAS RETURNED**

**POTTER IS MENTAL**

**BOY WHO LIVED CRAZY**

The headlines on all of the paper’s continued like this, as he read article after article condemning himself or Dumbledore as Liar’s and deranged. Sometimes they were portrayed as mental and needing to be locked up in St Mungos or attention-seeking. One suggests Harry’s fame was waning from his battle with Voldemort when he was a baby so needed something to make him famous again. He just stared unbelievingly at the Daily Prophet papers.

“They are trying to paint you as a liar or mentally deranged,” Remus pointed out helpfully.

“So this Greengrass thinks, if you were to become my guardian, that might get the pure-bloods to back off despite my parentage,” Harry suggested.

“That was our reasoning as well,” Sirius concluded. Harry just looked at the man, almost analysing him.

“You’re different, more mature, especially after the last time I spoke to you,” Harry suggested.

“I’ve been seeing a Mind Healer for the last three weeks, I’m not ever going to be the same man I was before I went into Azerkerban, but I am well on my way to recovery thanks to the Healer, taking up the Black Mantle and Remus’ help,”

“Look, Harry, there are lots of changes going on in the wizarding world, especially in the last week. Since Voldemort’s return three weeks ago, there have been some pushes in the Wizengamot and Ministry for reforms in regards to Muggle-born’s,” Remus pointed to an article from the previous Tuesday about a Wizengamot session, where Lady Zabini petitioned the governing body to begin a Muggle-born registry.

“We think this is part of Voldemort’s play, to make sure pure-bloods are at the top of the pile, then once he’s gained their favour, he’ll start moving in on the Muggles,” Sirius continued.

“I’m not sure what’s going to happen, but we think there is going to be a lot of anti-Muggle-born sentiment out there. Hogwart’s is going to be the hardest hit,” Remus added, “A lof the children are going to be harsher than adults, especially if they follow in their parents’ footsteps,”

“Hermione!” Harry looked at the pair startled, “We need to protect her and her family,”

“We do, I was considering bringing Hermione here,” Sirius said with a slight grin. Harry, now pacing up and down, never saw the knowing smile between the two old friends.

“What about Dumbledore? Will he interfere?” Harry asked the pair.

“What do you mean?” Remus asked curiously, wondering about the sudden change of subject.

“Some things are beginning to make a bit more sense now, this last week before you picked me up I was thinking a lot about everything, then to discover someone blocked my magic and charmed me,” Harry responded carefully, “I’m starting to wonder if everything in my life has been orchestrated. Was I supposed to meet Hermione? Is Ron Weasley really my friend, especially after the charms and potions you discovered,” 

“Dumbledore is a master manipulator!” Sirius snorted.

“Sirius, we’ve talked about this, there must be a reason for why there were those charms on you,” Remus replied patiently. It seems this was an ongoing argument between the pair.

“Where does your loyalty lie? To me and the Pup or Dumbledore, because I have a feeling things are going to get worse before they get better,” Sirius laid the ultimatum on the table. Harry stared at him in shock

“My loyalty will always be to the Pup here. Once a pack, always a pack,” Remus looked at his best friend as though he had stunned him.

“Back up, what the hell is going on?” Harry asked.

“Back when I escaped from Hogwart’s, I first went to Grimmauld Place and considered hiring a lawyer, I was going to approach Gringotts as I had a summons about my Grandfather’s Will waiting for me,” Sirius explained looking into the faraway distance, “But just as I was about to leave Dumbledore shows up until I recently I had forgotten that I was going to Gringott’s, suddenly I had the bright idea to travel abroad,”

“It was to keep you safe,” Remus argued.

“He used a Confundus charm on you?” Harry asked.

“That’s what I suspect.”

“At the moment, Dumbledore thinks Sirius is at Grimmauld Place sulking in his room. The Weasley are there with Hermione and som-“ Harry cut him off.

“Hermione’s at Grimmauld Place?” He questioned, “Why?”

“Dumbledore told the Order is was too keep Hermione safe,” Remus told the boy, Sirius was still brooding.

“Sirius, what happened at Gringott’s?” 


	3. Three: Families are like branches on a tree, we grow in different directions, yet our roots remain as one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the brilliant Kudos and reviews, I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

_25th June 1995_

Sirius Black stared at the letter in his hand, he had returned from seeing his godson late last night. The boy had been shell-shocked at what he had witnessed, and he was right to be, Voldemort returning was devastating.

“Would blood-traitor Master like more eggs?” Kreacher the elderly elf asked.

“No, thank you,” Sirius replied dismissively, his mind now on the letter Cyrus Greengrass had sent him. He had not spoken to his family in years and had undoubtedly been disinherited by his Mother.

“Are you well?” Remus entered the large kitchen.

“I received this letter from Duke Caernarfonshire, what do you think?” Sirius returned handing him the letter. Remus read through the letter, frowning before he looked up at his friend.

“It’s a bit mysterious, perhaps he wants to draw you out in the open,”

“You could be right, but I have a nagging feeling I should speaking to the Goblins,” the man suggested. Just then, a loud knocking could be heard at the front door. Walburga, Sirius’ portrait mother, began to spout obscenities. As Remus rushed to cover the portrait up, the Animagus went to the door. He opened it up to Albus Dumbledore.

“Professor, come in,” He directed the Headmaster through the house into the kitchen, where the barely-willing elf made the man a cup of tea, “How’s Harry?”

“As well as can be expected, he went through an awful trauma,” Dumbledore sighed, but something about this ‘routine’ seemed off. Almost like he was acting.

“If it’s not Harry, then what can we do for you?”

“I have contacted a lot of the old crowd and begun recruiting again. However, the Order of the Phoenix needs a headquarters,” Dumbledore looked at the pair, “I would like to use Grimmauld place as the Order headquarters,”

“Pardon?” Sirius asked politely, sure his hearing had gone. The house was decrepit, old and filthy.

“I would like to put it under a Fidelius Charm, with myself as the Secret Keeper,” Dumbledore continued, “This would be a great honour for you and the House of black,”

“I agree, we need somewhere for the Order to meet,” Remus spoke.

“OK fine,” Sirius answered reluctantly after the pair had ganged up on him to ‘persuade’ him. Within ten minutes, after being talked through the process, Remus had performed the charm making Dumbledore the Secret Keeper.

“My next point of business is allowing the Weasley’s to stay here, Bill is currently updating their Wards but it might take some time, so I would like it if you would allow them to stay,” Dumbledore requested/ordered.

“Sure, but Molly must understand that this is my home, she cannot just come bustling in and take over,” Sirius shuddered remembering the big red-head.

“I’m sure she’s not too bad,” Dumbledore answered with a chuckle, in that patronising way of his. Then he turned to Remus, “Would you be able to go abroad, contact the Werewolves to see who is on our side, I already have Hagrid going to the Giants,”

“No!” Sirus shouted before Remus could speak, startling the other pair.

“What do you mean?”

“We almost lost Remus last time, I want to keep him here to help tutor Harry over the summer.”

“Harry’s not going to be here over the summer,” Dumbledore responded, “He is being kept safe,”

“Excuse me?” Sirius asked angrily, “What do you mean Harry is not coming here this summer, I am his guardian,”

“You are still a criminal in the eyes of the law, you cannot go out anywhere,” Sirius looked at him mutely, his anger reaching boiling point. Remus put his hand on Sirius’s arm trying to calm the man down.

“I’m sure Harry might be able to come to see us for the last two weeks,” the man tried to soothe his friend and suggest an alternative.

“If you make Remus go to Europe I’ll find a way to break the Fidelius Charm, then kick your little Chicken group to the kerb,” Sirius told the old man angrily, “Harry is _MY_ godson, he will spend time here. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have things to be cleaning, you can show yourself out,”

The two men watched Sirius as he left the kitchen in anger, not sure when the last time Sirius had spoken to the Headmaster like that.

“I’ll calm him down, but he is right. I’m going to stay here for the summer,” Remus answered, getting a sad shake of the Headmaster’s head.

“I’ll take my leave, I’ll let the Weasley’s know they can come in a few days,” The Headmaster left wondering if he should have used one of his charms on Black, the man could make a dangerous enemy if he discovered the truth. Remus meanwhile followed his best friend up to the Master suite.

“Has he gone?” This Sirius was utterly different from the man downstairs, “Sorry I couldn’t say anything, but there is something off with Dumbledore. I’m not sure if it’s me, but I’m starting to see him in a different light.”

“Wow, that was some acting. But, I appreciate you trying to save me from going to Europe,”

“I remember the few times you come back before,” the Animagus answered, “Look, while the Weasley’s and the Order are here, I want you to paint me as moody and unsociable.”

“Like normal then,” Remus joked.

“Just play up the Azkerban card, I need to move around freely, and I get the feeling the Weasley’s are here to keep an eye on me.” He looked over at the fireplace, which had never been taken off the Floo network, “Can you take me to Gringott’s?”

“You what?” Remus cried.

“Greengrass’s letter is right, I need to go to Gringott’s. I have a real strong feeling about going there,”

“But you don’t want Dumbledore to know,” Remus ended his sentence.

“No,” Sirius deadpanned.

“I’m going to regret this, come on then Padfoot,” Sirius grinned at him then morphed into the grim-like dog. Remus took some Floo powder and shouted ‘Leaky Cauldron’, stepping into the green fire followed quickly by Padfoot. The pair passed through the pub, which was quiet for a Sunday morning. The shops of Diagon Alley were just beginning to open, but the shop keepers all looked bleary-eyed. Remus led Padfoot quickly through the alley to the snow-white building of Gringott’s. The Goblin guards eyed them up but did not move to intercept, and they were quickly able to see a teller.

“Yes, what do you want?” the goblin barked, not happy to see another wand-waver so early in the morning.

“I request an audience with the Black Account Manager,” Remus spoke, just barely over a whisper. Now the goblin looked at him, then over the grim. He nodded his head sharply.

“Please wait one moment,” The Goblin wrote something on a piece of parchment then handed it to another Goblin behind him. Some minutes later, the runner Goblin returned.

“Maglugg will see you now,” he squeaked. The small goblin led them through a series of corridor’s until they reached a door. It had a plaque with the Black coat of arms on it with the manager’s name: Maglugg, Black Account, Manager, Senior Advisor. 

The little goblin knocked first until a voice called for them to enter. The goblin pushed the door open, then leapt aside, allowing the pair to enter. As soon as Sirius entered, he felt something shift, before he found himself standing as an average human.

“Animagus Wards prevents anybody who should not be in here from entering,” the Goblin, Maglugg, spoke not looking up from his vast desk.

“That’s amazing,” Remus breathed, but Sirius merely looked perturbed.

“What can I do for you, gentlemen? I have not had a visitor in years.”

“I am Sirius Black, I had a summons a year ago but was somehow distracted from coming. Has His Grace Duke Arcturus Will been read?” Sirius asked.

“Only his Heir could get it un-sealed, now can you prove who you are?” Maglugg, the goblin looked sprightly despite probably being over a hundred.

“I know you have several scans you can perform on me,” Sirius answered diplomatically.

“You are right,” the goblin replied briefly, then looked at the man. Moments later Sirius felt a tingle go through him, going right down to his core. A quill began to write something on a piece of parchment. If Remus did not know better, he would have thought the goblin was frowning.

“This is most unusual,” the goblin muttered, then looked up, “Well, I would like to say welcome Lord Rendlesham, it is good to see you back,”

“Lord Rendlesham?” the man in question appeared shocked.

“Your Grandfather made you the next Head of the House, you are to be Duke of Anglia and Head of House Black when you take up your ring,”

“But what about his stay in Azkaban?” Remus asked.

“As his name was not entered into the Book of Criminals, according to the Ministry, and Family magic supersedes such things, he is eligible to take the Headship,” Maglugg explained.

“If I can be proven innocent, I can take care of Harry,” Sirius’s mind moved into high gear, “With the Headship, I can hire lawyers to help me,”

“I’m with you, whatever you decide.”

“Would you like to hear the Will of your Grandfather?” Maglugg asked.

“Yes,” Sirius replied firmly. The goblin grinned an evil smile, then wrote something on a piece of parchment. He placed it down a small chute then looked up at Sirius.

“Before we continue I would like to inform you that my initial scan has detected several charms and loyalty potions, though some appear very weak.”

“What?” the man stared at the goblin flabbergasted.

“Firstly, you’ve traces of a Memory Charm, which are years old, most likely about 30-odd years old. More recently I can see a Confundus charm on you, loyalty potions keyed to Albus Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix,” Maglugg recited as though he was repeating a shopping list, “You also seemed to have Revulsion Jinx’s directed toward Slytherin and Severus Snape in particular, not to mention powerful Cheering charms, which could be detrimental to you,”

“That’s-“ Remus was cut off from saying anything as there was knock on the door, then a Goblin entered with a silver platter upon which rested a rolled-up scroll, that was sealed and a mahogany box. The goblin placed the box and scroll on the table, then exited.

“There are two parts to the Will, the first is directed to his Heir, then the second is directed to any living members of the Black family,” Maglugg told the stunned man slicing through the seal with a silver knife. A fizzle of magic escaped as he began to unroll the parchment. While he was doing that, Sirius looked at the box, which had the Black Crest inlaid on the top. Centrally located were crossed wand’s with a raven on either side, then one below. Star’s were laid across the top of the ‘field’. Maglugg cleared his throat.

“I, Arcturus Phineas Black III, being of sound body and mind do hereby leave most of my estate and Headship to my heir Sirius Black X. Sirius, my boy, though your Mother might have ‘disowned’ you, you will always be my heir and the next in line to take the mantle of Head of the House Black. I want you to take over Hárasteorra Hall and restore the Black’s to their former glory. I know you are innocent of the crimes they say you committed or the family magic would not have allowed you to become my heir.

Do not trust Dumbledore, everyone thinks he is the Lord of the Light, but he has manipulated many people including in this family. My last bit of advice is to find a good woman that will stand by your side as Lily Evans used to,”

“The old man got confused in his old age, he probably meant Holly,” the man saddened at the loss of his girlfriend.

“Now, when you put on the Head ring, the Black Family magic should clear most of the potions and Charms. However, you’ll need something stronger to help get your memories back,” the goblin actually sounded helpful instead of his usual cantankerous self. The dog-animagus looked at the box, then pulled it toward him, opening the box smoothly. There were two rings inside, the Duke signet ring and the heir ring. The Signet ring was made of solid gold, the central part was bloodstone with the Black Coat of arm reverse engraved on it. Either side of the inset bloodstone was engraved ravens.

The heir ring was smaller and silver, this one had crossed wands beneath a raven engraved onto the surface. Sirius picked up the Ducal ring, sliding it on the right pinky finger. Magic resized it, so the ring fit perfectly, but at that moment a wave of magic rushed through his body. His Grace, Sirius Black X, Duke of Anglia, Earl of Rendlesham now knew all about the properties and House-elves he was connected to. He became intimate with the Black Seat, Hárasteorra Hall. The Family Magic washed away the charms and most of the potions in his system, neutralising them. Though he still had his love of pranking, he suddenly felt concerned with stuff now rather than acting like a child.

“I would recommend a good mind-healer, but the ring should now protect you from any potions or mild Charms though it won’t protect you from everything,” Maglugg commented, “Now when would you like to schedule the second part of the Will?”

“Is midday too early?” Sirius asked.

“No, we can do that. It will give us time to go over your finances and the state of the Black Family books,” Maglugg bought out a heavy book opening it to show Sirius and Remus the vaults and everything listed.

“What’s this?” Remus pointed to a separate vault.

“Ah, the Black Foundation,” Maglugg spoke as though that answered everything. Still, all he saw were two blank faces, “The Black Foundation is a charity set up by your Grandfather, it has been helping three orphanages in the United Kingdom and once a year has paid for a Mundane-born to attend Hogwart’s, though in the last few years this has not happened. Lily Evans was the first CEO before she died. Currently, the Board composed of Augusta Longbottom, Callidora Longbottom, Narcissa Malfoy, and Minerva McGonagall run it,”

“Cissy?”

“Her husband knows nothing of Lady Malfoy being on the board,” Maglugg explained, “You also have a seat on the Board, but we can arrange a meeting in good time,”

Over the next few hours, Maglugg took them over the state of House of Black Finances plus all the contracts. He was quite surprised at the Greengrass-Black Contract as well as a couple of others that appeared. While still one of the country’s wealthiest families, some of the investments were not doing as well as expected. With Remus’ help, Sirius was able to look at some new assets and buying more stock in investments that were going well. Just as Sirius’s stomach was beginning to rumble, a piece of parchment popped up in front of Maglugg.

“Ah, everyone is assembled for the hearing of the Will, Mr Lupin you may remain in here, but please do not touch anything except the Black Book’s,” the Senior goblin told the werewolf.

Narcissa Malfoy looked around Gringott’s, which was moderately busy. Before breakfast this morning she had received a Summons to hear the reading of her great-Uncle’s Will. Her husband urged her to go, perhaps Draco had been named as the next Duke of Anglia. She remembered his piggy eyes lighting up over the vast Black wealth falling into his hands. It had been an uncomfortable breakfast with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named sitting at the table, his snake slithering around the table legs.

“Teller, I have a meeting at midday for the reading of the Black Will,” She demanded harshly, playing her part in case any of her husband’s associates were watching. The goblin looked up with widening eyes at the dark-haired witch.

“Lady Malfoy shall follow me,” an elegantly-dress Goblin spoke from her side. She barely acknowledged him, following the stately creature through the upper parts of Gringott’s to a set of double doors guarded by two goblin sentries. They pushed the door open to a conference room, with a large oaken table and comfortable-looking chairs. The room was all in polished black and white tiles. Her breath hitched as she saw the first person in the room, who at first appeared to be her oldest sister Bellatrix. Then she noticed the soft brown hair and the wider, kinder eyes.

“Dromeda, how nice to see you,” she commented softly.

“Cissy, it’s been a long time,” the Healer replied, then Narcissa noticed Andromeda’s Muggle-born husband, Edward Tonks with their daughter Nymphadora Tonks. She briefly wondered why Andromeda’s family had come, but her’s had not been invited. Narcissa was interrupted in her musings by a snort, she found herself looking at an old lady, but with the distinctive Black locks having gone entirely grey now. Though old, she held herself with dignity and pride. It has been many years since she had seen her Great-Aunt Callidora Longbottom neé Black.

“I see we have all been summoned,” she said plainly as the woman moved around the opposite side of the table to her sister’s family. As she took a seat next to her Aunt, a goblin entered with several bits of parchment.

“These are contracts so that you are oath-bound to keep what is said and done in this room a secret, our client feels it is necessary once the Will has been heard,” the goblin handed them each a piece of parchment and a quill.

“Is this a blood-quill?” Narciss asked primly. The goblin gave her an evil smile and nodded. She knew she did not have a choice, so with a louder sigh than usual, she signed the contract after a brief flick through. It was a standard contract that held her oath-bound, enabling her to discuss the events with those in the room unless the executor said otherwise. Once signed, the contract flew into the hands of the goblin, and he left the room. Minutes later it opened again making her gasp. Sirius Black, her cousin and escaped criminal, stood in the doorway with Maglugg, the Senior Accountant to the Black Estate.

“Sirius,” Andromeda gasped, before hugging their cousin. He looked undernourished and was wearing shabby grey robes. His hair was a mess, his face was narrow, “You look unwell,”

“I’ve been on the run.” He deadpanned. Narcissa snorted, calling his gaze on her, “Hello Cissy, Aunt.”

“Hello Sirius,” she replied, taking note of the signet ring on his finger. He had become the Head of Black, suddenly her heart began to blossom with hope. He took a seat at the head of the table.

“Sirius, where the hell have you been?” Callidora cried, pointing her stick at him. He just shrugged at the old woman.

“We are all here to hear the last Will and Testament of Lord Arcturus Black, last Duke of Anglia,” Maglugg looked around, “Are there any reason we should not read the Will out?”

“No,” Andromeda spoke first.

“No,” Narcissa agreed. The goblin nodded his head and unrolled the sheet of parchment he had with him.

“If the second part of the Will is being read out Sirius Black or his heir will have taken on the Head of House. Firstly to my cousin **Cassiopeia** , you were always my favourite. I give you G25,000. If the Goddess has taken her, please provide the money to the Black Foundation. **Callidora** , I’m sorry about what happened to your grandson, so I hope this goes a long way; G25,000 for your personal vault, G50,000 for St Mungo’s Permanent Spell Damage Ward and G25,000 for your great-grandson. Hopefully, this will go some way to make up for Bellatrix Black’s attack,” Maglugg read the Will out loud, Callidora looked absolutely astonished, “Now to the youngest members of the family; **Bellatrix** is to receive nothing, Sirius try to get the dowry back we paid to the Lestranges. **Andromeda** , I would like to give you G50,000, and your daughter will receive a bursary of G5,000 a year until she turns thirty then a one-off gift of G25,000. Finally, we come to **Narcissa** , I give you G50,000 as long as not one sickle is given to Lucius Malfoy or the monster he serves. Young Master Malfoy shall also receive a bursary of G5,000 a year until he turns thirty then a one-off gift of G25,000.

“So end’s the Will of Arcturus Black III, 14th Duke of Anglia, 8th Marquess of Rendlesham,” Maglugg finished, “I have to collect the contracts for said monies, I shall leave you for a moment and be back soon,”

Maglugg left with his assistant closing the door behind him, everyone seemed too shocked to speak.

“So you’re the Head of House Black?” Narcissa asked quietly

“So it would seem, my dear departed Mother did not or could not disinherit me. That happy power lay with Grandfather,” Sirius replied, “That reminds me, Andi, you have not been disinherited either, Mother may have blasted you off the wall, but you are still a Black through and through,”

“What?” the women looked almost tearful.

“I’d like to bring you back into the Black Family, you and your family,” He told the woman, hearing a small sob from the strong Healer. Maglugg shuffled back in with his assistant carrying several parchments.

“Once you’ve signed these, the monies gifted will be moved to your personal vaults,” the goblin told them all. Over the next half hour, the room was filled with the scratching of quill’s as all read through the contracts and signed them. Edward ‘Ted’ Tonks scrutinised the contracts before allowing his wife and daughter to sign. He caught Sirius looking at him carefully.

“Are you still a law-Wizard?” the animagus asked.

“Yes, though still a junior Lawyer for Avery & Rowle,” Ted sounded a little bitter.

“Well I may have an offer for you, and I hope you can give me some recommendations,” Sirius spoke a little mysteriously as he became distracted.

“Thank you, Lady Malfoy, for your time,” Maglugg was saying. She said her goodbyes and started to leave the room with her usual grace, but Sirius caught Narcissa at the door.

“I know you and I were close once, but you’ve changed since marrying Lucius,” Sirius started.

“You went to Prison,” Narcissa sniffed, trying to maintain her disdain.

“I know, but if you need sanctuary, you and Draco, you are welcome to come to Hárasteorra Hall. I will protect you and annul your marriage if need be,” Sirius told her, well, seriously.

“Thank you, Cousin,” she replied, nodding her head. She left with a lot on her mind. A new, strong, Head of House Black could go very far and cause many changes. Sirius meanwhile turned back to the others talking to them all briefly before they left promising to keep in touch with the new Duke. Maglugg led the man back to his office, where Remus was poring over the Ledgers.

“How did it go?” the werewolf asked.

“Surprisingly well, there were a few shocks especially with how generous Grandfather was,” the one-time convict returned taking a seat next to his best friend, “Any bombshells I should be aware of?” 

“Actually yes, besides what we went through this morning I’ve found two trust funds. One replenishes itself with G20,000 every year and is currently sitting at G300,000, while the other replenishes itself at G15,000 to a current value of G165,000,”

“What or who are they for?” Sirius looked perplexed, “Trust funds are for children of the Duke of Anglia, until aged 17. I’m pretty sure I would know if I had children,”

“I can’t imagine you with children,” Remus laughed at the man, so the pair both turned to look at Maglugg.

“Before we finished today I was going to speak to you about Harry Potter, Gringott’s have been wishing to see him for a while, there have been some issues with his trust fund,” Maglugg said with a sparkle in his eye, seemingly changing the subject.

_14th July 1995_

Two days had passed since Harry had woken from his coma, two days since Remus and Sirius had told him about the visit to Gringott’s. He was glad to see his godfather happy and become the Head of House Black. But he wondered at Sirius’s last comment, that the goblin’s wanted to speak to him. Dumbledore had held his key since he was born, surely they would talk to the Headmaster if they needed anything. Rain drizzled down the window, typical weather for the UK in summer than the heatwave they had endured.

“I’ve got something for you,” Sirius’s voice drew Harry out of his musings. The man had some clothes hanging over his arm, “These were my brother’s, but they should fit you. We don’t want you visiting Gringott’s looking like a street urchin.”

“I’m surprised Remus got you into anything decent,” Harry quipped back. Indeed, the erstwhile criminal looked better than ever. He had been seeing a discreet Healer recommended by Andromeda and eating well. His black beard was trimmed, and his dark hair pulled into a pony-tail. Sirius was dressed in the finest robes with the Black House Coat of arms on the left breast.

“Be ready in fifteen minutes,” the man warned him glaring at the boy. Harry quickly found smart trousers, a white shirt and a black jumper. He tried to smother his hair down but failed with a sigh. Harry followed the noise downstairs until the teen found Remus and Sirius in the Floo room, as he called it. Remus looked a lot better, his last change had been seven days ago, but he had a lot more colour beginning to fill out a bit. His robes also fit him a lot better, instead of the shabby ones he once wore.

“Ready to go,” Remus asked him a smile, “We’ll be going straight to Maglugg’s office, then speak to the Potter family Manager,”

“Good,” Harry answered nervously.

“Maglugg’s office, Gringott’s,” Sirius called out, before being whooshed away in the green flames. Remus followed soon after. Harry stood there for a moment, or two then called out the address. Harry immediately felt dizzy as the flames twirled him ever faster until it spat him out at his destination. He rolled out on the floor to look up at his quasi uncles who were chuckling at him. Sirius offered his hand, so the boy took it brushing off all the soot. When Harry was stood up, he looked around the office; it was big for such a small person, but Harry thought it might be designed like that to intimidate pure-bloods. The goblin behind the desk was dressed in a fine suit and looked to be old. He also noticed there was another goblin with him, perhaps younger than the first.

“Harry, the esteemed gentleman behind the desk, is Maglugg, House of Black’s Account Manager,” Sirius introduced.

“This is Duggat, the Potter Account Manager,” Maglugg waved in the other goblin’s direction.

“I have not got my vault key, my, er, guardian Dumbledore has it.” The goblin swore in his native tongue, rudely called Gobbledygook by wizards.

“Forgive my colleague, Albus Dumbledore has never been your guardian, by ministry standards he has appointed himself your guardian. But Sirius Black has been your guardian since birth, and that has not changed,” Maglugg looked at the man interestingly.

“I am sorry,” Duggat appeared shamed, “You are the recipient of a trust fund set up by your Mother,”

“I have recently taken over that Trust Account, it seems Duggat’s assistant was working with someone to remove monies from your account systematically,” Maglugg told them.

“What about the Potter Vaults?” Sirius asked.

“Harry does not have access to those at this time,”

“What? Why?” the man blinked, suddenly confused as to what was going on. The old goblin turned to look at the boy.

“You have access to a lockbox kept here by Lily Evans, would you like to see it?” Maglugg asked, surprising them all by changing the subject. Harry looked at his godfather, not sure if he wanted to see something of his mothers. The older man nodded at him giving a reassuring smile.

“OK, yes please,” Maglugg turned to Duggat speaking to him in their native tongue. The other goblin disappeared, “I only thought you had vaults here.”

“Sometimes a client wishes to lock up smaller things or have less money to use a vault,” Maglugg explained, “It is much easier to get to one’s lockbox than it is to get to a vault,”

“Sounds good.” At that moment Duggat entered carrying a substantial metal box with a lock on it. He placed it down on Maglugg’s desk, who immediately withdrew a key and unlocked the box. All three humans leaned in closer to take a look at the contents. There appeared to be a narrow wooden box and a letter, nothing else. Sirius withdrew the slim, tall box slipping off the lid to find it held several vials of what appeared to be memories. Harry, with a degree of anticipation, withdrew the letter. It was addressed to him, written on Muggle paper with a biro. Unfolding it reverently he looked down at the neat words written by his Mother.

_Dearest Harry,_

_I am writing this just one month since you were conceived. Your father and I only just discovered about you and are absolutely ecstatic. The Memories and the letter are our insurance policy, if you are reading this, then I am dead and unable to tell you the truth. Albus Dumbledore has been sniffing around tried to recruit your father and his best friend into the Order of the Phoenix for some time._

_Harry, no matter what people say, Sirius Black is a good man, and I have no doubt he will be a great father to you._

Harry dropped the letter on the desk swaying a little bit, surely she got it wrong. James Potter was his father.

“Harry’s what’s the matter?” Sirius looked at his godson concerned. Harry just tapped the piece of paper as tears began to form. The man quickly read it, stopping when he came to the same bit as Harry.

“No, it can’t be. Surely I would remember something like that, your Mother was only my friend,” Sirius stuttered taking a seat. Remus looked between the pair.

“What’s happened?” Remus asked, confused. Silence followed for several moment’s before Harry answered.

“Sirius is my Dad!”


	4. Four: Blood is thicker than water

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the Kudos, subscriptions and comments.

Remus Lupin, a one-time friend of both Sirius and James Potter, looked between the pair of them before laughing his head off. Then, when he realised they were not laughing, he looked at _father_ and _son_ with astonishment.

“You cannot be serious. The love between James and Lily was known by everyone,” Remus gasped, “It would take a mass _Confundus_ in the water to make me believe James and Lily were not in love.”

“Actually, I have proof,” Maglugg stepped up, making the three look at him shocked, “View the memories after you finish the letter, but I have a birth certificate.”

“I’ve seen Harry’s birth records at the Ministry,” Remus interrupted.

“Our records cannot be tampered with, neither can valid birth certificates. There is a true copy buried in the ministry, hidden by someone.”

“Why the hell wasn’t anything said before?” Sirius stared at the goblin.

“We were under oaths, Your Grace, Duggat and I are the only ones that knew. We were to inform the right people on Harry’s 15th birthday,” Maglugg shrugged his shoulders as if it was of no consequence to him.

“Read the rest of the letter,” Sirius suggested softly.

_Harry, no matter what people say, Sirius Black is a good man, and I have no doubt he will be a great father to you. I hope this doesn’t come as a shock to you, and Sirius will be in your life in some capacity, hopefully as your father._

_I met him when he was just eleven; he was totally the opposite of the rest of the pure-bloods we met on the train. Annoying, childish and full of mischief (Harry grinned), but something about him sparkled. However, he instantly took a shine to me and pursued me relentlessly until our fifth year, James Potter tried to keep him reigned, but I knew he liked me. During the fifth year, the boys bullied my other friend Severus Snape relentlessly, I tried to help my friend, but he called me a ‘Mudblood’. A dirty filthy word that upset me a lot._

_I ended up crying in a hidden corridor when Sirius found me, comforting me. This was a side I had never seen, his softer side. By Easter of our fifth year, we had begun dating, though only our friends James Potter and Remus Lupin knew. If people knew Sirius would have been threatened by his family, a scion of Black could not be seen with a Mundane-born._

_We married in secret when we left Hogwart’s, and I’ve never been more in love. Sirius is such a wonderful man; I hope that you know him. I’ve left these memories because I have a feeling Dumbledore is going to do something. He has always creeped me out, insinuating I should be with James Potter, the light born Prince. He has repeatedly said Voldemort is a danger to all mundane-born, but he spouts out the Greater-good nonsense, and I’ve seen the way he favours the pure-bloods, especially on the so-called light side. I have seen the esteemed Headmaster ignore the ‘grey’ families, totally blasting the so-called dark families._

_Sorry for the rant; I really hope this letter never finds its way to you; that Sirius, you and I are all living as one happy family with perhaps a sibling for you. Please know that I love you very much and will always be with you._

_Your Loving mother,_

_Lily._

Harry could not help but stare at the letter once again. Never in all his years had he expected to discover Sirius was his father. He passed the note off to Sirius, turning to look at Remus.

“What’s a mundane-born?”

“Excuse me.”

“Mum mentions mundane-born several times in the letter,” Harry explained.

“Oh, she never liked the term muggle and Muggle-born. She felt they were insults so called those that could not do magic mundanes and those born to them, mundane-born,” Remus clarified, “I must admit I do prefer that term to Muggle-born.”

“She also seems to think you knew about Sirius and her dating,” Harry told the man.

“James and Lily dated in the seventh year but never did Sirius and Lily date,” Remus told the boy, surprised.

“Do you think Remus might have suffered the Memory Charm?” Harry asked, looking at Sirius, who had just put the letter down.

“If I’ve been obliviated, then I can certainly believe that Remus has been wiped too because I don’t remember dating your mother,” Sirius spoke almost sadly.

“We’ll have a look at the memories. They might be able to jog something,” Harry suggested.

“I think that’s a good idea,” Remus added.

“Have you got a Pensieve?” Sirius looked to the goblin.

“We have one for your use,” the goblin looked at him before going to a cupboard behind him and pulling out a grey bowl made of some kind of stone. Engraved on it were images of fighting goblins. Around the edges were runes.

“So, do you want to do this?” Sirius asked his _son_.

“I want to see if what you and mum had was real,” Harry answered him. Sirius took up the first vial before tipping it out into the Pensieve.

“Are you coming with us?” the man asked his best friend.

“You bet,” Remus replied firmly. The three looked at each other one more time, then each touched a finger into the memory. Harry felt himself falling before finding he stood on the edge of the lake of Hogwarts. The trio was stood next to Lily Potter; she had thick dark red hair that fell to her shoulders and startlingly green almond-shaped eyes-Harrys eyes.

“ _Impedimenta_ ,” a young Sirius shouted, pointing his wand at a fifteen-year-old Severus Snape, who was knocked off his feet halfway through a dive. Harry looked around to see others had begun to watch the young marauder’s taunt Snape. Lily was now observing them. Snape was on the floor panting as the pair advanced on him, wands up. Harry noticed James glancing over his shoulder, looking in their direction.

“Obviously, James liked Mum,” Harry muttered as Wormtail edged around Lupin to get a better view.

“How’d the exam go, Snivelly?” said James.

“I was watching him; his nose was touching the parchment,” Sirius crowed viciously, “There’ll be great grease marks all over it; they won’t be able to read a word,”

“You were really nasty to him; no wonder he is like he is,” Harry commented as several people watching laughed. Adult Sirius hung his head in shame; he never wanted the teen to see him like this. Harry realised Snape must have been unpopular. Snape tried to push himself up, but the jinx must have still been operating on him; he was struggling, as though bound by invisible ropes.

“You…wait,” he painted, looking at James with an expression of pure loathing, “You-Wait...”

“Wait for what?” Sirius asked the boy coolly. “What're you going to do, Snivelly? Wipe your nose on us?"

Snape let out a stream of mixed swearwords and hexes, but nothing happened with his wand being ten feet away.

"Wash out your mouth," said James coldly. " _Scourgify!_ "

Pink soap bubbles streamed from Snape's mouth at once; the foam was covering his lips, making him gag, choking him-

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Lily Evans marched toward them, making the three Watchers follow her. Fifteen-year-old James and Sirius looked around. James’ free hand jumped to his hair.

"All right, Evans?" said James, and the tone of his voice was suddenly pleasant, deeper, more mature. Sirius gave her a quick, shy smile that no-one would notice if they had not been looking for it. But Harry's eyes were on Black like a hawk.

"Leave him alone," Lily repeated. She was looking at James with every sign of dislike. "What's he done to you?"

"Well," said James, appearing to deliberate the point, "it's more the fact that he _exists_ if you know what I mean...."

Harry looked around as the other teens laughed, including Wormtail. Lupin, intent on his book, did not appear to join in, and neither did Lily. He also noticed Teen Sirius had abruptly gone quiet.

"You think you're funny," she said coldly. "But you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him alone."

"I will if you go out with me, Evans," James tried quickly. "Go on...Go out with me, and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again." 

"He really was a dick," Sirius commented as Harry noticed teen Sirius flushed with anger. He wasn't happy with James asking Lily on a date. Behind James, the _Impediment_ Jinx was wearing off. Snape was starting to crawl toward his wand, spitting out soapsuds.

"I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid," Lily shouted.

"Bad luck, Prongs," Sirius told his mate, but he had a slight grin on his face. Wormtail suddenly shouted.

"OY!" But too late; Snape had directed his wand straight at James.

"That never happened. I was the one that called out," Older-Sirius muttered as there was a flash of light and a gash appeared on James's face, spattering his robes with blood. James whirled about; a second flash of light later, Snape was hanging upside down in the air, his robes falling over his head to reveal skinny, pallid legs and a pair of greying underpants. Many in the crowd cheered, James and Wormtail roaring with laughter. Teen-Sirius eyes were darting between Snape and Lily.

"Come on, James, I think that's enough now," Sirius attempted to say.

"You're going soft," James snapped back.

"Let him down!" Lily thundered, his face aflame with anger.

"Certainly," replied James, and he jerked his wand upward. Snape fell into a crumpled heap on the ground. Disentangling himself from his robes, Snape got quickly to his feet, wand up, but James once again beat him to it " _Petrificus Totalus_!" and Snape keeled over again at once, rigid as a board.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Lily shouted. She now had her own wand out, which James and Sirius eyed warily.

"Ah Evans, don't make me hex you," James told her earnestly.

"Take the curse off him, then!" James sighed deeply, then turned to Snape and muttered the countercurse.

"There you go," he said, as Snape struggled to his feet again, "you're lucky Evans was here, Snivellus-"

"I don't need help from filthy little mudbloods like her!"

"Fine," Lily blinked. "I won't bother in future. And I'd wash your pants if I were you, Snivellus."

"Apologise to Evans!" James roared at Snape, his wand pointed threateningly at him.

"I don't want _you_ to make him apologise," Lily shouted, rounding on James, "You're as bad as he is....."

"What?" yelped James. " I'd NEVER call you a- you-know-what!"

"Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you've just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid quaffle, walking down the corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can-I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head of yours. You make me SICK." She turned on her heel and hurried away.

“Evans!" James shouted after her, "Hey, EVANS!"

But she didn't look back.

"What is it with her?" said James, trying and failing to look as though this was a throwaway question of no real importance to him.

"Reading between the lines, I'd say she thinks you're a bit conceited, mate," Teen-Sirius told him, though James missed the small smile on his face. By then, the three Watchers were pulled along suddenly as Lily must have gone out of earshot. They followed the girl as she walked through Hogwart's as tears began rolling down her eyes.

"We really were horrible back then," Sirius commented as they walked alongside her until she found a disused corridor and settled on one of the window seats overlooking the Quidditch pitch. It seemed like it was maybe fifteen minutes later before they heard the noise of boots scraping the floor. Lily quickly wiped her tears from her eyes as Sirius rounded the corner. She gave him an angry look making him stop some five feet away.

"If you're here to apologise for James, I'm not accepting it," she snapped.

"I'm not actually," he rubbed his head awkwardly, "I'm here to see if you're OK after what Sniv-Snape called you,"

"I, uh, I hate that word," she broke down in tears again, so Sirius approached her like she was a wounded animal. He slowly placed his arms around her and embraced the young red-head.

"Why does he have to be such a jerk?" She cried into his chest.

“He can’t help it; he’s an only child,” Sirius tried to make her laugh; he got a watery chuckle out of her.

“I know you go along with him sometimes, but you’re semi-decent,” her muffled voice returned.

“Thanks, I think.”

The scene dissolved, and the trio found themselves back in Maglugg’s office, looking at one another.

“Well, that’s not what I remember happening,” Sirius and Remus spoke at the same time.

“What happened?”

“I shouted out about Snape, then once Lily was gone, we proceeded to hang Snape up again. I never went after her,”

“I definitely remember Sirius laughing at Snape a second time, though it almost seems foggy to me,” Remus added.

“Let’s look at the next one,” Sirius suggested. They scooped the previous memory back up into the vial before pouring the second one into the Pensieve. This time they found themselves in a darkened corridor.

“I remember Lily telling us about this. This was about a month after the other incident,” Remus commented.

“I’m sorry,” Snape pleaded.

“I’m not interested.”

“I’m sorry!” Harry could hear the raw emotion in Snape’s voice now.

“Save your breath,” Lily replied coldly; she was wearing a dressing gown and stood with her arms folded in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady at the entrance to the Gryffindor tower. “I only came out because Mary told me you were threatening to sleep here.”

“I was. I would have done. I never meant to call you Mudblood; it just-“

“Slipped out?” There was no pity in Lily’s voice. “It’s too late. I’ve made excuses for you for years. None of my friends can understand why I even talk to you. You and your precious little Death Eater friends- you see, you don’t even deny it! You don’t even deny that’s what you’re all aiming to be! You can’t wait to join You-Know-Who, can you?”

He opened his mouth but closed it without speaking.

“I can’t pretend anymore. You’ve chosen your way; I’ve chosen mine.”

“No-listen, I didn’t mean-“

“-to call me Mudblood? But you call every one of my birth Mudblood, Severus. Why should I be any different?” Snape struggled on the verge of speech, but with a contemptuous look, she turned and climbed back through the portrait. Harry caught one last glimpse of Snape’s completely destroyed face before the magic pulled him into the Gryffindor Common room. It hadn’t changed much over the years, Harry thought before he was drawn to the scene in front of him. The Common Room must be empty, so it must have been near curfew.

“Are you alright?” Teen-Sirius asked. Lily nodded before she completely dissolved into tears. Once again, the boy took her into his arms, holding her as she sobbed. They remained this way for several minutes, then they took a seat at the fireplace staring into the fire.

“You know someone is going to come down and check the common room,” Sirius nudged her. She leant into him, laying her head on his shoulder.

“Let them, I’m a Prefect!” she spoke like that would change everything. Sirius chuckled at her.

“You’re such a kneazle sometimes.”

“What?” she looked at him, confused.

“Fiercely loyal, a definite handful and dangerous as hell. But put a piece of string in front of you, and you go loony.” She laughed at him pretending to slap him, but lost her footing and ended up on top of Sirius, her lips touching his. They remained that way for a couple of minutes before she slowly backed away. Sirius was looking at her wild-eyed as his hand came up, stroking her auburn locks.

“I really like you,” Sirius admitted.

“Shh,” She told him, then kissed him purposefully. Harry noticed a shadow in the stair-way, a shadow that looked suspiciously like James Potter.

The room dissolved again before the trio once again found themselves on solid ground in Gringott’s.

“I think I would remember a kiss like that,” Sirius looked panicked, “What the hell did that goat-sniffer do to me?”

“Calm down, we can’t just go accusing the Headmaster willy-nilly,” Remus told his friend, trying to hold onto the last vestiges of his loyalty to Dumbledore.

“You’ve seen everything he’s done, all the charms on Harry and me to the Obliviate,” snarled Sirius.

“He’s right; we cannot just accuse him of anything. We have to play the long game, Dad.” That one word bought Sirius back down to earth; he looked at the boy who was his son.

They spent the next hour going over the memories until the last one cut off just before Sirius and Lily had sexual relations. Harry came out of that one looking green, but luckily he didn’t see his parents naked. Oh wow, now he was thinking about them as his parents. Sirius was sat in his chair looking into nothing, his mind going over everything.

“Here is Harry’s birth certificate,” Maglugg added over the piece of parchment, which was sealed with magic, to Remus and Harry. The pair perused it, looking for any type of tampering.

“Harry’s real name is Harry Anteres Black,” Remus commented, pulling Sirius out of his funk.

“I have a son,” He laughed out loud then hugged Harry, swinging him around the room, “How are you feeling about this?”

“Confused but surprised. I’ve been dreaming about this for years; when I was locked in the cupboard, I dreamt of my mum and dad coming to get me.” 

“What do you mean cupboard?” Sirius growled.

“It doesn’t matter now, I’m here with you, and that’s all that really matters,” Harry hugged the man closer.

“So do we announce it? What should we do?” Remus questioned the pair.

“First, as the firstborn son to the Duke of Anglia, you must take-up the heir ring,” the Senior goblin told the pair. He had retrieved the box with the rings in; Harry loved the look of the Black Coat of arms on it.

“First-born?” Sirius cottoned on as Harry took up the smaller silver ring slipping it onto his pinky finger like he noticed his _father_ wore. The ring resized and fit him perfectly. “Do you mean to say I have another child out there?”

“I cannot tell you this, only that Family magic created a second Trust vault eleven years ago,” Maglugg answered.

“I recommend we don’t say anything yet, not least to the ministry or Dumbeldore,” Sirius suggested, “Until the hearing, you are missing.”

“I agree, but Sirius, will you be able to go back and forth between Hárasteorra Hall and Grimmauld?” Remus asked.

“Yes, they already think I’m moody for having the Weasley’s stay,” Sirius returned, then looked at Harry, “Firstly, you as firstborn are the Marquess of Rendlesham, yet you look like that orphan Oliver,”

“I’m what?” Harry looked at the two adults.

“As my firstborn, you take on one of my titles, in this case, the 10th Marquess of Rendlesham as I never really took the title, you succeed my father. He never took on the Ducal title because he died before Grandfather,”

“So I’ll always be called Marquess?”

“Until you take my title, but in short, you will be called Lord as I’m called Your Grace, etc.,” Sirius answered with a big grin.

“Do I have to call you Your Grace?”

“Between us, you can call me what you like if you're not comfortable with dad or father yet. In a more formal setting, it may be required.”

“After we get done here, I’ll take him to Diagon Alley to buy some new clothes and everything he’ll need for next year,” Remus suggested.

“Hey, how do you know what I need for next year?” Harry looked at his former teacher.

“It’s pretty much the same as last year, but with fifth-year books,” Remus laughed, “Plus, we need to get you a more superior trunk, better clothing and perhaps I’ll treat you to an ice-cream at Fortescue.”

“He’s going to need tutoring on etiquette, not to mention all the Houses, maybe some history of the family,” Sirius suggested.

“You mean to tell me I have to have lessons during summer,” Harry whined.

“Also, I’ve heard your dismal at Potions; we’ll have to get a tutor for you,” Sirius considered ignoring the teen.

“That’s because Snape is rubbish, and I get stuff thrown in my cauldron,” Harry replied, gobsmacked at the change in the man.

“Come on, Harry, let’s get going,”

“Are you going to put a glamour on him?” Sirius questioned.

“Only his eyes and scar, he’s definitely got your face. How I never saw it, I’ll never know,” Remus replied.

“Let this be the first outing for the Earl of Rendlesham, son of the new Duke of Anglia,” Sirius told them, “Don’t let people know it’s Harry unless it’s the shops, but most of them have oath’s not to reveal their clients,”

“Before you go, Your Grace, I need your permission to allow your heir to pay for things with his ring,” Maglapp said.

“I forgot about that; how much is an heir limit on the accounts?” Sirius asked.

“He can take up to G5,000 a day from his trust account,”

“Remind me how much his account stands at?” the man looked at his son with a grin.

“He currently has G300,000, which has accumulated after fifteen years.” Harry looked absolutely astonished.

“I don’t deserve that!”

“You are my son; you will have the finest items money can buy,” Sirius told him. “Authorise the account; I’ll not miss another fifteen years of presents.”

“Good, well done, Your Grace,”

“What about his other Trust fund?” Remus looked at Sirius.

“How much does he have in there?”

“G5,000 Galleons remain, however Duggat and I want to do a full audit as we said, we believe there may have been some fraudulent dealings regarding this vault,”

“Alright, you have my permission to investigate.” Sirius took up the ledger’s saying goodbye to the goblins before exiting through the Floo network. Remus shook his head at his friends' antics before putting a glamour on Harry. Remus conjured a cloak, which hid what Harry was wearing and had a hood. Now Harry had grey eyes like his father, and his scar had disappeared. He looked the epitome of a Black lordling. They bid the goblins goodbye then walked out onto Diagon Alley. The rain had stopped, though angry clouds above them promised more.

“Where are we going first?” Harry asked lowly.

“We’ll go to Twilfitt and Tattings first; they are where most of the Gentlemen go except for School robes, which Madam Malkins handles,” Remus explained, leading them through the alley until they reached a shop with rich red paint on the outside. Harry had never felt so low despite being incredibly wealthy. The bell tinkled as they entered; a long-legged man came out wearing an impeccably tailored suit. He looked at them with a small amount of disdain, especially Harry’s clothing.

“The long-lost heir of Black has been discovered; his lordship needs a completely new wardrobe,” Remus said for Harry. Immediately the man’s eyes lit up, and Galleon figures could be reflected in them.

“Come this way, we already have another young man being fitted out for new clothing,” the Tailor explained. Harry sighed, betting the other boy was Draco Malfoy, which would just be his luck. However, standing on a box was none other than Neville Longbottom. He appeared thinner than Harry remembered and much stiffer.

“Lord Grosmont,” Remus offered the boy a bow.

“What did you call him?” Harry asked as Neville spoke.

“Professor, it’s nice to see you,” his face split into a genuine grin. “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve bought his lordship in to be fitted some new clothes,” Remus explained, then turned to Harry, “Neville is the son of the Duke of Whitby; he goes by the title Marquess of Grosmont.£

“Lord?” Neville looked at the other boy, taking in the ill-fitting clothes under the cloak, but smiled at him anyway. He wondered why Remus was explaining things to the young boy.

“This is the 10th Marquess of Rendlesham,” Remus introduced. The Tailor had ushered Harry onto a box and then took measurements, reading out his results to an assistant.

“Pleasure to meet you, My Lord. Are you attending Hogwart’s this year?” the once-nervous boy asked pleasantly.

“Erm, yes,” Harry replied as Remus took a look around. Seeing the Tailor and his assistant were busy, he muttered ‘ _Muffliato_.”

“Go ahead, you can tell him,”

“Nev, it’s me, Harry.”

“What? But you looked nothing like him, except the voice,” Neville looked confused.

“I’ve got a glamour to hide my scar and eyes, but I come into my…legacy the last week,” Harry explained.

“Marquess of Rendlesham, that’s a Black title.” Neville mused.

“I, erm, found out James Potter was not my biological father. Sirius Black is my real father; he’s also innocent of any charges.”

“Sirius Black is your father?” Neville looked absolutely astonished.

“He has taken up the Head of House Black,” Harry looked to Remus, who nodded, “So I am now the Lord Harry Anteres Black.”

“That makes us cousins, like five times removed or something, but my great-grandmother is a Black by blood,”

“Actually, you are god-brothers too; Lily was your godmother, Lord Grosmont. Lady Alice was your godmother, Harry,” Remus told the pair.

“I knew that,” Neville told the pair reverting to his shyness again.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Harry asked.

“You made friends with Ron, then Hermione. Ron made it quite clear who your friends were; there were plenty of people that wanted to be friends with you,” Neville described.

“But I was the Boy-Who-Lived, I didn’t want friends for my status,” Harry returned.

“All the heir’s know each other; we’re all similar ages except a few. At the time, you were Heir Potter, last son of the House of Potter. I know Susan and Hannah wanted to be friends, even Daphne and Malfoy,”

“But Malfoy is a prick!” Harry answered. He received a frown from Remus but ignored him.

“He’s only like that when Ron is near-by, he’s jealous, plus Draco’s got his father shoving the dark nonsense down his throat. It doesn’t help the Bad heirs all hang around him.”

“Bad Heirs?”

“Parkinson, Crabbe, Goyle, Zabini, Flint, Carrow,” Neville ticked off, “Though Crabbe and Goyle are Greater houses, beholden to House Malfoy.”

“Wow, this is so confusing,” Harry said. Just then, the Tailor returned to Harry, offering different styles of clothing to the poor teen. Luckily Neville and Remus were able to help him out with colours, the Coat of arms, and the different types he needed. Two hours passed before Harry was dressed in some new clothing; Neville had long since gone.

“Are you ready to pay, My Lord?” the Tailor asked.

“Actually, I would like my Steward fitted out with some new clothes. It is well past time he got something new,” Harry pranked his quasi-uncle, who glared at him; he knew revenge would be coming to him at some point.

Another hour later, Remus was dressed in much smarter clothes, with several bags that were shrunk down to a manageable size. Harry happily paid for the clothing with his new ring. Remus then took him on a shopping spree, getting more books than he could ever need or want to read. He also got a new trunk, which was lots bigger than his last, with many security features. Harry was refitted for his school uniform, but this time with the finest silk money could buy. Finally, after a trip to the apothecary, Remus treated the boy to some ice-cream.

“Hárasteorra Hall,” Harry called out, stepping into the green fire; somehow, this time, he was able to step out into the parlour without falling over. However, he did have lots of soot all over him.

“What was that Steward thing all about?” Remus asked the minute he stepped through. Sirius appeared at the door of the parlour, flicking his wand to vanish the soot on Harry.

“Steward?” asked a very perplexed Sirius.

“This little brat made me buy more clothes, calling me his Steward,” answered Remus with a grunt.

“Well, I figured House of Black needs a Steward while Sirius cannot walk down Diagon Alley; also, once he is free, someone will need to keep our affairs in order and work with Sirius. Not many people will do that.”

“Hey!” Sirius took a swipe at his son, who dodged out of his way.

“We could also pay him a wage, maybe allow him to live here,” Harry suggested. Sirius led them out of the parlour into the hallway as Remus began to argue, telling them both he didn’t need any charity.

“Actually, I think it’s a great idea; Harry is correct. Master Lupin, I officially hire you on as my Steward, you shall be paid G5,020, S1 and K10 a year,” Sirius told him, all protests falling from Remus’ mouth, “Now I shall contact my lawyer, and we will draw up a contract,”

“Sorted,” Harry grinned at the older man as he led the two of them up the stairs and to his room. The pair pulled their purchases out and placed them on the bed. Sirius resized them before performing ‘ _Finite Incantartem’_ on Harry. Now the glamour was removed, he looked at himself in the mirror. He appeared more mature, though was still woefully short for an almost fifteen-year-old.

“Did you buy all of Diagon Alley?” Sirius looked between the pair.

“Stop looking in the mirror; you’ll freeze like that,” Remus grinned at him just as a chime interrupted Harry from responding. Elkley appeared with a POP!

“Master Black, Lady Malfoy and Heir Malfoy are waiting for you in the parlour,” the elderly house-elf told them.

“Thank you Elkley, we’ll be down shortly. Please take them through to the drawing-room and offer them refreshments,” Sirius told the elf. The elf popped away as Sirius turned to Harry. “I know you're not Draco’s biggest fan, but please do not antagonise him. He is family now.”

“Yes, Sir,” Harry replied back cheekily, following his father and former teacher out of his room downstairs to the central living area. Narcissa stood up as soon as Sirius entered, followed slowly by Draco.

“Your Grace, I’m glad you could see us,” Narcissa spoke formerly.

“We’re all family here; no need to be formal.” Harry noticed there were some trunks next to the sofas.

“Draco, this is His Grace, Sirius Black, 15th Duke of Anglia. Yo-Sirius, this is my son Draco Malfoy,” Narcissa introduced the pair. Draco performed a short bow then shook the hand of the older man.

“Well met, Master Malfoy,” Sirius intoned, “May I introduce you to the Steward of House Black, Remus Lupin, and my son and heir Harry Anteres Black. This is Narcissa Malfoy, my cousin,”

“Pleased to meet you, My Lady,” Harry spoke, formerly taking the woman’s hand and kissing her lightly. Draco looked at him, astonished.

“What a charming son you have,” her questioning looks met Sirius's eyes.

“What can I do for you, Cissy?” Sirius asked. Harry heard a snigger from Draco as Sirius used the nickname.

“I wish to ask for sanctuary for myself and my Son!”


	5. Five: Family Matters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter involves potentially distressing scenes or deals with issues that may affect you emotionally.

“What?” Draco and Sirius cried at the same, both looking at the stately woman in shock. Harry did not think he had seen Draco looking so animated as he did right now.

“You cannot be serious, mother; we don’t need sanctuary anywhere,” Draco told his mother.

“No, he’s Sirius,” Narcissa replied, laughing lightly. Draco’s jaw dropped, and even Harry appeared surprised. The last time he had seen Draco’s mum, she looked like there was something smelly beneath her nose. He had never seen the women looking so loose as she was now.

“That’s the Cissy I remember.” Sirius commented, “You are perfectly welcome to live here, but I have to ask why.”

“The Dark Lord has moved into Malfoy manor, and I will not play to his every whim,” she answered, making Sirius’s jaw drop. “I have caught one or two of the Death Eater’s looking at Draco; I refuse to allow my son to join that half-blood murderer.”

“So you know the truth?” Harry asked the woman.

“Yes, as does Lucius, but he refuses to believe the man he prostate’s himself before is less of a pure-blood than him,” came the reply.

“What if I want to follow in fathers’ footsteps,” Draco spoke up petulantly.

“Then you are a fool!” Harry voiced before anyone could get in a word. Sirius glared at him going to speak, but Narcissa silenced him. She knew that a peer might persuade her son more easily. “I do not believe you really want to join the Death Eaters; you have not got the disposition to murder, rape and steal from others. Yes, you have bullied Ron, Hermione and me, but most of the time, that’s done half-heartedly.”

“You, my son, are much more intelligent than the oaf’s that join the Death Eaters. Being around certain people has not helped you,” Narcissa eluded to what Nevile had told him earlier.

“Let’s put this argument off. Narcissa, you are welcome to stay as long as you like,” Sirius told them before calling out, “Elkley,”

“Yes, Master Black”

“Can you get one of the house-elves to set up a room for Lady Malfoy and her son?” the marauder asked.

“Yes, Master,” the elf popped off, then returned with more tea for the inhabitants.

“Actually, this is good; I was going to call a family meeting in the next few days to reaffirm the Black family and introduce Harry to everyone,”

“It is surprising. I never knew you had a son and did not expect you to have Harry Potter as a son. Have you adopted him?” Narcissa asked primly.

“He is my biological son,” Sirius looked at Draco as though not sure whether to speak in front of the blond boy.

“You know the Family Magic as well as I do, Sirius, a Black cannot repeat anything that is spoken within these walls,” Narcissa looked around the hallowed walls of Hárasteorra Hall.

“What do you mean? I couldn’t repeat anything said here,” Draco looked confused. Harry almost felt sorry for him.

“You are a Black by blood, this _House_ Hárasteorra Hall is interweaved with the Family Magic. All those of Black descent cannot repeat any secrets that are spoken here unless given permission of the originator.”

“But won’t _He_ be able to rip it from my mind?” Draco looked panicked now. Harry had never seen the boy this way; he was sure the other boy had no real friends.

“That brings up a good point; there are certain people that may want to get to the secrets in Harry’s head. I need someone to teach Harry Occulemency,” Sirius suggested looking at Narcissa, “How far are you along with Draco?”

“His shields are weak at the moment,” she answered candidly.

“Harry requires lessons this summer, especially in Etiquette and Occlumency. Would you be willing to train him?” Sirius asked. “In return, Remus will help include Draco in Harry’s lessons on everything else except Potions; I’m still looking for someone who could teach that,”

“Professor Snape could teach us,” Draco spoke hopefully.

“Severus Snape is a traitor,” Sirius ground out, not trusting himself. Narcissa gave him an appraising look.

“You know he is passing information to the Dark Lord; he came back to him on hands and knees,” the witch explained. She noted that neither Remus nor Sirius looked shocked at this information.

“He is supposed to be a spy for the light side; he works for Dumbledore,” Sirius spat.

“Ah, I see there is some disharmony, maybe one of the reasons for Harry’s sudden appearance as your son,” Narcissa suggested while Draco just goggled at the adults.

“I was, apparently, in love with Lily Evans. We started dating in our Fifth Year,” Sirius described his relationship. Harry was not sure if he wanted the woman to know the secrets of his parents. How could Sirius trust this woman when she was married to Voldemort’s right-hand man.

“I see, I had left then by the time you were dating, but I was under the impression that Lily started dating James Potter in the seventh year,” Narcissa commented.

“I’ve seen the memories of us falling in love and dating, right up to when we first made love, but I can’t remember.”

“Memory Charm?”

“We think so. Sirius had a scan done. He had been charmed, but also there were traces of Obliviate on him,” Remus told the woman, “I can’t remember him dating Lily either.”

“I may know a way you can regain your memories,” the woman suggested. The marauder looked at her questioningly.

“I did not think there was anything that could bring back memories,” Remus was the one who voiced their thoughts.

“It is an ancient potion, I believe it is in the Black Library, but it is a long time since I have looked in there,”

“Are you a potion’s mistress?” Harry questioned. He was beginning to like the dignified woman, though he was unsure why Sirius was telling her everything.

“Beside Severus, she’s the best!” Draco scoffed.

“It doesn’t do to gloat, darling,” Narcissa gently reminded her son.

“Perhaps then, you would be willing to teach Harry Potions, I’m afraid he’s had a terrible teacher, and someone kept interfering with his potions.” Sirius pointedly looked at Draco, who admittedly looked ashamed.

“You know how dangerous Potions are; how can you interfere with someone else’s potions, especially a novice?” she demanded of her son.

“It’s perfect Potter, the prince of Gryffindor. Uncle Sev encouraged it,” Malfoy whined.

“He is no longer a Potter, he is family, and we look after family no matter what house they are in. Do you know the Black Family motto?”

“Toujours Pur; Always Pure,” Draco replied quickly.

“Actually, the full motto before it was mangled was Domus est, Pura Semper,” Sirius cut in. “Which means, “Always pure to the house, or in other words, Loyalty to the Blacks above all others.”

“Siri is right,” Narcissa told her son, making Harry giggle at his _father’s_ nickname. “I have doubt’s that Snape is a good teacher if he allows this to happen,”

“How long will the Potion take?” Harry asked, trying to take the attention off Draco a bit. When had he started calling the other teen Draco?

“If I find the right ingredients and the potion is correct, I believe it will take just over a month to create,” Narcissa replied, giving the boy a smile. She knew exactly what he was doing regarding her son, knowing _that_ conversation was not over.

“Right, let’s take you to your rooms and get you comfortable,” Remus suggested.

“Besides, the three unforgivables, are there any other curses that could be classed as illegal?” Remus asked the two boys. A week had passed since Narcissa and Draco had arrived at Hárasteorra Hall, though there had been no significant fights between the two teens as expected. Each day Narcissa would take the two boys’ for etiquette, Occulamency or Potions classes in the morning, then Remus would take them in the afternoon for anything else the two boys’ required. Harry had to admit, it had been pleasant to have Draco to play Quidditch with earlier during the day. With no one else around, the other teen had not gloated, nor had he uttered the infamous words ‘My father shall hear of this’. Draco was almost coming into his own, Harry thought.

“Sectumsempra,” Draco spoke quietly. Remus frowned at the boy. Remus was giving them an extra lesson because they had missed his class yesterday. They had taken over the Drawing room when not in use for their studies.

“Yes, how do you know about that?” Remus’s voice was rather cold.

“Uncle Sev, he told us about it once,” Draco’s voice was small.

“It’s a very dangerous curse, created by Severus Snape.”

“Yet, he’s teaching it to School-aged kids,” Harry snorted, “great teaching at Hogwarts.”

“It _IS_ a dangerous curse, but it is relatively modern. Some curses have been lost to time, thank Merlin,” the marauder told them.

“I read about De’Agnon the Dark in fathers’ library,” Draco added.

“It wouldn’t surprise me they had that information in your fathers’ library. Did the book talk about the curses?” Remus asked.

“No.”

“Well, there are some miracles in this world,” Remus muttered.

“Who is De’Agnon?” Harry asked.

“De’Agnon the Dark was one of the first Dark Lords in about three AD. From what little we know, he was a spell spinner and necromancer who consequently created several dark spells, which luckily have been lost to time though we know their names and what they did.” Remus started putting a weighty tome on the desk.

“So what were the curses?” Draco asked, causing Harry to roll his eyes.

“They were known as the Seven Deadly Sins; the Catholic church later modelled their own sins off these. Now De’Agnon studied many various creatures and perfected his curses around theses; Greed, Wrath, Gluttony, Apathy, Lust, Shadow, and Bestial.

He and his followers forged an empire with these seven curses until early ancestors of the Black’s managed to capture and kill him. His research was destroyed, yet a Black documented what each of the curses did. I found them in the library here.”

“So what do they do?” Harry asked, now eager to learn about the curses.

“Well, Greed was the least severe of the curses, but still bad. The three worse were Shadow, Lust and Bestial,” Remus shuddered. “Lust changed the victim into what we call a succubus or Vampire; without having to infect them, they found themselves driven to drink blood at all costs.”

“I’m guessing Bestial was to do with werewolves?” Draco broke in, Harry was mesmerised by the teacher. Remus nodded but continued his story.

“Shadow would turn the victim into something unable to live in the light. This might not seem too bad, but the shadow-victim was bonded to the spell-caster and often used to commit assassinations in the dead of night,” Remus continued to the impressionable teens. “Bestial was the worse of the worse, the ultimate warrior for the dark wizard. Ten times that of werewolves today, every full moon the victim would become a wolf slaughtering indiscriminately except for the original spell-caster.”

“Was there any way of reversing these curses?”

“Fortunately, the Black Scribe wrote that all seven curses needed power and intent behind them. If you could stop them mid curse, you could slow or stop the curse from taking full effect,” Remus answered as a noise interrupted them.

“Welcome, Andromeda,” Sirius could be heard greeting his cousin. They put their books away, though Harry noticed Draco slipping the weighty tome into his bag. When the blond looked up, he met Harry’s eyes. The pair knew they would be looking at it together later. As Andromeda entered, followed by her family, Harry stood taking the older woman’s hand, kissing it lightly.

“Well, you have been teaching manners, though I did not expect to find Harry Potter here,” the brown-haired woman commented. Harry looked over to find a portly man with blond hair and a tall woman with a heart-shaped face and pink hair.

“Harry, this is my cousin Andromeda Tonks, her husband Ted and their daughter Nymphadora,” Sirius introduced the boy to the newcomers. Harry heard Nympthadora speak.

“If you call me Nymphadora, you will never have children,” the young woman threatened, looking between Draco and Harry.

“Nymphadora!” her mother admonished.

“You can call me Tonks, or as your family, I’ll allow you to call me Dora,” she told them, a little sullenly. Sirius disappeared as another chime was heard, returning minutes later with an older woman.

“Everyone, this is Callidora Longbottom, Neville’s great-grandmother,” Sirius added for the benefit of Harry. “She’s also a Black by blood,”

“Pleased to meet you,” Harry bowed to the older lady as Remus bid them all a goodbye. Narcissa passed him, giving the man a small smile; Harry noticed and shared a look with Draco, who looked just as perplexed. The pair hid their book bags away as Sirius sealed the room with Black magic,

“Now we have that out the way. Everyone, I would like to introduce you all to the newest addition to the Black Family Harry Anteres Black, Heir to the House.” Upon his announcement, jaws dropped, the old woman looked him over with a laser-sharp gaze then nodded while the other three looked at him with utter astonishment.

“Are you absolutely positive he is your son? I can see the resemblance, but he is Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. He is the son of the world-class Auror,” Andromeda looked between the pair of them curiously, not failing to see the frown on Sirius’s face.

“He is my son; I have seen the memories of being with his mother, a birth certificate and last week Narcissa brewed a _Puerapatre_ potion for me. He is 100% my child,” Sirius returned.

“You said, Memories?” Ted, the lawyer, asked.

“Yes, it’s one of the reason’s I’m calling you all here. My memories have been tampered with by the Great Albus Dumbledore.” That sentence caused an uproar with the Tonks’s and Lady Longbottom.

“My son and grandson were great followers of Dumbledore; the Regent Longbottom is one of his closest allies,” Callidora watched the man shrewdly.

“But you’ve never been a fan of the light,” the man retorted, remembering his younger days when his great Aunt would complain about how the Light side, the Progressives, were pushing new ways on all magical beings.

“You’ll find, impudent nephew, that I dislike the progressives, not those that are light completely,” she snapped back at him, receiving a dry laugh in return.

“I have evidence that he has interfered in Harry’s life. I have seen James and Lily’s Will’s, which is moot now; Harry was supposed to go to first myself, then to Frank and Alice, then to Amelia Bones,” Sirius told the gathered family. Even Harry did not know about the Will, so he was a little shocked. “Harry was taken to his Mug-Mundane family,”

“Excuse me, Sir, but didn’t Pot-er, Harry live with rich magical relatives?” Draco asked, astounded. His image of Potter, erm, Black, had totally been destroyed in the last week.

“No, I was just treated like a House-elf,” Harry muttered, not realising he had spoken out loud until there was absolute silence in the room. He looked up from staring at his shoes to find everyone looking at him; Sirius was going red, Narcissa had a sympathetic look on her face while Andromeda appeared horrified.

“Even in new clothes, you are shorter than a fifteen-year-old, and you look thin.” Even though he was horrified, Draco sniggered at the embarrassment on Harry’s face. _Harry?_ He wondered. Andromeda looked gently at the teen. “Stand in front of me, Harry.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Harry stood in front of the Healer. Everyone could see, even in the new clothing, the boy was far too slim. Ted handed his wife a parchment and quill, which she set on the coffee table. She took up her wand, muttering an incantation that Harry did not hear. A soft golden light seemed to scan him from head to foot; the results of the scan were now being written on the parchment. After a few moments, the quill finally stopped writing, and Andromeda looked at the paper.

“Self-healed arm, poorly healed leg, severely malnourished, Phoenix tears and basilisk venom. Signs of a concussion, and, oh,” Andromeda cried out, now staring at the boy before her.

“What is it?” Sirius looked very pale. Andromeda visibly pulled herself together before looking at the man, now his father.

“Firstly, why the hell isn’t that Muggle family in jail for abuse?” She asked angrily.

“I, er, wasn’t abused,” replied Harry, shrinking back into his seat. “Isn’t that what all families are like?”

“No, Harry, Father has never treated me like a house-elf,” Draco responded, though there was a dark shadow in his eyes. Harry knew he was hiding something.

“Draco is right, honey; families are loving toward one another. We don’t physically attack one another,” Andromeda told him softly.

“You what?” Sirius spoke angrily.

“It appears he has had a broken arm and leg that have not healed properly, one arm that was wholly deboned-“ Harry cut her off.

“That was Professor Lockhart during my second year,” Harry explained.

“Be that as it may, that does not explain the shadow of a concussion or the broken bones that healed incorrectly,” she answered in her best patient voice, “Why didn’t Madam Pomfrey pick up on any of this, haven’t you had your yearly exam at Hogwart’s?”

“No, what’s that?” Harry looked perplexed.

“Every year, all students are required to visit Madam Pomfrey, in case of on-going injuries, problems they are having or someone to talk to,” Draco spoke up.

“Never been invited to an exam.” Andromeda harumphed.

“Perhaps we should get Madam Bones involved,” Dora spoke up for the first time.

“I don’t think it’s time to get your boss involved just yet, we need these injuries properly investigated, not to mention, speak to Poppy,” her mum returned.

“Wow, are you an Auror?” Harry asked, his eyes shining.

“Just out of the Academy, I’m partnered with Kingsley Shacklebolt,” she told him excitedly.

“He’s of the minor Noble houses, correct?” Harry asked, trying to remember some of his etiquette lessons.

“Yes, his father is Sir Shacklebolt.”

“That’s neither here nor there. We have other things to worry about,” Andromeda interrupted them. “Did Dumbledore ever visit you?”

“No, I never knew I was a wizard until my eleventh birthday.” He heard a gasp from Narcissa but ignored it in favour of watching Andromeda.

“Did anyone else ever visit you? Such as Mugggle social worker or a Police officer?”

“A social worker visited once when I was about eight, but then nothing ever came of the visit.” 

“Magical interference,” Ted and Sirius spoke at the same time.

“What were you surprised about?” Sirius asked, getting back to her gasp.

“Situated around his scar is some very dark magic,” the Healer told him. “I don’t know what it is, but it’s the blackest magic I’ve ever seen,”

“Do you think that’s how I’m connected to Voldemort?” Harry asked, hearing the gasps from several parties.

“It could be,” Andromeda suggested but looked to Sirius, who shrugged, “You really need to see a Mind Healer, not to mention having your old injuries looked at. I would also recommend a nutritional diet to help improve his body, though he will never be a tall man.”

“Can you not do all that?” Sirius asked.

“It would be better to bring him into St Mungo’s if only to catalogue the abuse of the Muggles and the abandonment of Dumbledore.”

“Firstly, I would like you to represent Harry at the hearing in three weeks,” Sirius turned to Ted, “How’s the business going?”

“Tonks & Black is running well; we’ve acquired several lawyers, not to mention stolen some clients from the others,” he laughed, getting a smack from his wife.

“Harry has been accused of breaking the Statute of Secrecy and the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery when he performed a Patronus in front of his muggle cousin,” Sirius told the other man.

“You can perform the Patronus Charm?” a shrill voice asked. Harry had forgotten about Callidora.

“Yes, Ma’am,” Harry answered respectively.

“I would like to see it,” she demanded. Harry looked at Sirius for confirmation, who just nodded at him. He summoned up his best memory, which was one of his latest. After brewing the _Puerapatre_ potion, Sirus had turned to him and told Harry he really was the boy’s father.

“ _Expecto Patronum_ ,” Harry called but got the shock of his life when a stag did not emerge from his wand. An ethereal raven emerged from the wand, flying around the room before settling on Harry’s shoulder. He almost felt the weight.

“That’s amazing,” Andromeda cried.

“I thought your Patronus was a Stag,” Draco commented.

“It is, was,” stuttered Harry. Sirius let out a bark of laughter.

“It’s the family magic; the raven is the Black family sigil,” Sirius told a very perplexed Harry.

“You have one very powerful boy there,” Callidora stated. “I will back the Black family; I have no doubt once Augusta knows of Dumbledore’s interference, she will be looking for an alliance,”

“Neville is my god-brother,” Harry told the old lady.

“Better than that Weasel,” Draco muttered under his breath, but Harry could not argue after what Neville had told him. In the last week, he had begun to question the loyalty of his friends.

“Narcissa and Draco have been bought back into the family. If I can get a trial for myself, I will begin proceedings to have your marriage annulled,” Sirius turned to Narcissa, “For the time being, Harry and Draco, out in public you must pretend to be enemies. Narcissa will remain in the estate in France.”

“What are we going to do about Dumbledore?” Andromeda asked.

“His time will come, but I want to bring the Black’s back to a neutral state,” Sirius revealed his master plan, “There are too many families that don’t wish to side with Voldemort but have a strong dislike for Dumbledore’s leadership of the light. They need a new leader to follow.”

“Oh no,” Harry gasped as he realised Sirius was looking at him.

“I hate to burden you, but even if I were acquitted, I would be looked at with suspicion, but if we use you as a figurehead, the former Harry Potter, Heir to the House of Black, the House and it’s allies would be able to attract the neutrals.”

“What about the announcement today?” Andromeda asked.

“The Muggle-born register?” Sirius asked.

“It was ratified today.”

“There is still some debate on it, and the next Wizengamot session is not until after Harry’s minor hearing. If we can get some evidence to Amelia, I’ll be able to attend and start overturning it,”

“What does that mean for Hermione?” he smiled fondly at the thought of his best friend. She had been there with him, always by his side. He felt his insides get warm at the thought of her. Butterflies seemed to be making the rounds of his stomach. Harry shook his head; there was time later to analyse what these feelings meant.

“It means that she will have to register as a mundane-born. She will never get the best jobs; she’ll be stuck as some clerk or something,” Sirius answered.

“She’s smarter than most of the people at Hogwarts,” Harry angrily spoke. “Isn’t there anything we can do? Narcissa was telling us about vassals and those protected by the big houses.”

“It may not be enough,” Narcissa tried to say gently.

“We can certainly see about having her protected by the House of Black as a Vassal, however as Narcissa said, it may not be enough,” the marauder told his son gently, who sank into his seat. “We’ll all have a think about it and research possible solutions.” 

“Thank you,” Harry replied quietly.

“Now, I think perhaps it’s time we ended this meeting, but I hope we’ll have more meetings in the future or just gather as a family,” Sirius suggested.

“Actually, I think I would enjoy that; despite all the revelations, it was nice to see you again,” Andromeda smiled and exchanged a few more words with everyone before they left, followed by Callidora. Andromeda went straight to her office when they arrived back home.

“I know that look on your face,” Ted said, leaning against the door as she looked through several bits of parchment.

“What look?”

“The one that says someone is not going to be happy, usually that person is me,” He replied with a smile.

“I’m going to see Poppy,” she told her husband, who nodded his agreement. They could discuss the meeting later as he watched his wife enter their front room, where the fireplace was.

“Hello, Andromeda, it’s been a long time,” Madam Pomfrey greeted the head in her fireplace.

“Yes, I feel like it was during training that we last saw each other,” the woman laughed, “Do you mind if I step through?”

“Of course,” Poppy Pomfrey stepped back, allowing the other woman to step through. Andromeda had just started at St Mungo’s in her first year as a Healer intern when it was Madam Pomfrey’s last year of teaching. The older witch had left the following year to become Hogwarts matron. Andromeda looked around at the tidy office. All of the bottles were in neat rows, with labels facing outward. Her desk was clean, and the two cosy chair’s had throw rugs on them. She took notice of the small bed in the corner in case there were patients overnight.

“How are you? It must be dreadfully boring,”

“Summer’s are all quiet; I’m sure Harry Potter will keep me on my toes when we return,” the kindly matron said off-handedly, noticing the dark frown on her friends face.

“And has Mr Potter come into the Hospital wing a lot?” Andromeda asked carefully.

“More than most, he had the incident in the first year, several incidents in the second year, the third year he was almost eaten by a werewolf, then last year was the whole tri-wizard nonsense,” Poppy marked off her fingers as she served tea to the other woman.

“Did you ever scan him while he was here?”

“I must have done,” the matron frowned as she tried to remember if she had scanned the boy. A headache sprang up. Andromeda was watching her closely, alarm tickling the back of her mind.

“Please have a seat,” she said gently to the other woman.

“Why the visit?” Madam Pomfrey felt unsure of herself.

“Actually, Mr Potter is the reason for my visit; I’ve recently become his Healer. Were you aware that he had been abused?”

“What, no!” Pompey denied. She cried out as pain stabbed through her head; she clutched her head as the pain came in waves. Andromeda grabbed her friend, pulling gently toward the fireplace. She was barely able to get her through into the Emergency Department.

“Emergency, someone help me please,” she called out with authority. Immediately she was surrounded by several people and a floating bed. She pulled her wand out and called, “ _Somnum_ ,”

“What’s the matter?” A male healer spoke as Pomfrey was lowered down onto the bed.

“Sixty-year-old female, I believe she has multiple Memory Charm’s on her, one of which may have triggered some reaction,” Andromeda calmly told the other Healer.

“Ah, Healer Tonks, is this Madam Pomfrey?” he asked, shocked as they took the floating bed toward the fourth floor: Spell Damage.

“Yes, I was discussing a patient, Healer Ward, when she was overcome with headaches and I would guess stabbing pains. I have sedated her, but you may need a specialist Mind Healer to help,” she suggested.

“Thank you,” she left the elderly matron with the Healers but wondered what to do next. Should she inform Hogwarts and Minerva McGonagall if Pomfrey had been charmed, Hogwarts deputy Headmistress was likely compromised. She went up to the fifth floor and the Paediatrics Wing. Entering her office, she immediately called her husband, then fire called Sirius. She explained everything to them.

“I agree with you, Professor McGonagall is likely compromised being so close to Dumbledore,” Sirius spoke from the fire.

“I was going to recommend you speak to Regent Longbottom; she is on the Hogwarts Board of Governors,” Ted spoke up.

“Do we tell her everything, though? She’ll want to go after Dumbledore.”

“Contact her via Callidora, we need to let Dumbledore know something soon, or he’ll wonder where his matron is,” Ted said.

“In the meantime, can you get Remus and Harry to St Mungos? I think we need to start the ball rolling and get some evidence on Dumbledore before Harry’s court case,” Andromeda asked of the man.

“Sure, I’ll have them there in the next thirty minutes,” Sirius disappeared from the fireplace, immediately going to find Remus and Harry. He found Remus in his usual spot in the library and Harry in the drawing-room, which had once again been converted into a classroom. The man apologised to Narcissa for pulling Harry from his lesson. He just told the pair they were going to be meeting Andromeda in her office. The pair went off through the Parlour Floo while he went to his study.

“Callidora, have you got a moment? I need some help,” Sirius called into the fireplace, getting the older witch immediately.

“Welcome to St Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Hopefully, this will be your one and only visit,” Andromeda smiled at the lad.

“Knowing his luck, I’m not so sure,” Remus muttered. Then he turned to look at the Tonk’s parents. “Sirius didn’t tell us what this is all about,”

“We would like Harry to be examined and documented,” the witch answered.

“No!” Harry replied vehemently.

“Harry, what Dumbledore did to you is deplorable. You had people that should have taken care of you, but he put you in a Muggle home, where you were abused,” Andromeda explained gently, trying not to spook the poor boy.

“I’ve been loyal to Dumbledore for years, but I wondered why you were given to Vernon and Petunia Dursley,” Remus added.

“It may help prevent someone else from being abused,” Ted threw in, having already sized the boy up.

“I’ll do it, but very reluctantly,” Harry responded under protest, knowing if he could help one person out, he would be happy.

“I’ll be with you at all times, as your attorney,” Ted placed his hand on the teen’s shoulder.

“As shall I,” Andromeda got up from he desk and tenderly led Harry from the room, down the corridor putting him in an examination room with Remus and Ted. Moments later, she returned with a tall man with salt and pepper hair.

“Harry, I would like you to meet Healer Brendyn; he is my direct supervisor,” Andromeda introduced the teen to the new person.

“This is a _special_ case,” Brendyn examined the boy before him.

“He is malnourished,” Andromeda started going over as Brendyn conjured a file.

“He has also been laced with Potions and charms,” Remus added, beginning to tick off, “Harry had loyalty charms on him, charms that made him hate Slytherins, a charm that dimmed his intelligence and enthusiasm for reading. He’s also ingested love potions, and he broke through a magical binding,”

“Excuse me?”

“We found that he had been bound from birth after he was attacked by dementors; he was able to completely destroy it,” Remus described what his scan’s had told them.

“Now, can you take your shirt off? Please,” the older gentleman had a pleasant voice.

“Why? Can’t you just scan me or something,” Harry asked curiously.

“We can, but I would like to do a visual exam of your body too,” Brendyn laughed, making the teen relax a bit. He took his shirt off somewhat reluctantly; now Remus could understand why. His chest and back were a latticework of old scars. His chest was so thin, Remus could count his ribs. Though the bruises were faded, the bruises were still; black, blue, and yellow.

“Oh, Merlin,” Remus uttered, turning away. Brendyn tried to remain impersonal, but even he was struggling at the enormity of the abuse. Remus turned away, feeling ill, while Ted tried to compose his face.

“I’m now going to perform several scans now, so please be still,” the Healer’s voice stuttered, shocked, “these reading are incredible; he has basilisk venom in his blood and phoenix tears. One of his arms was completely deboned.”

“Compare this,” Andromeda handed the Healer her own bit of parchment, allowing the pair to exam his findings very similar to what Andromeda had found. Except these findings were official.

“It seems most of the charms and Potions you had on you are gone, but there are bits of your body that need rehealing, not to mention the aura of darkness you have centred on the scar you have,” Brendyn talked through all his findings. “I would recommend admitting him today; we’ll need to vanish his leg and arm bones, then re-grow them. We’ll have to start him on a Potion regime too.”

“I think Sirius would agree to that,” Remus nodded at the Healer, “Will you report this?”

“It has to be reported immediately; something on this scale is an injustice of epic proportions,” Brendyn lost some of the softness in his voice. Harry could see that he could be scary.

“It’s a delicate situation, we are going to be hauling someone over the coals for this, but it is someone extremely powerful. We cannot let them know what we are up to until the last minute; at the moment, Harry’s guardian has a tenuous claim to that title.”

“I see, but this will need reporting,” Brendyn replied, leaving them with an official parchment with his findings.

“We need to involve the Aurors,” Andromeda spoke up to Harry’s wide-eyed look.

“What about the muggle-police?” Ted asked, instead.

“Why would you use mundanes?” Harry asked, knowing that Ted was mundane-born himself.

“Because your Aunt and Uncle are muggles, they hate magic, but it would be wrong for our own force to get involved really,” Ted explained.

“Well, we still don’t know who to trust, but there is someone that may be able to help us,”

“Who?”

“Amelia Bones, the regent of House of Bones,” Remus suggested.

“Do you think she’ll be able to keep this quiet?” Andromeda asked.

“I’ve got leverage on her. Unfortunately, it involves your daughter, but also back in the day, she was sweet on Sirius.”

“You’re not going to get Dora fired, are you?” Ted asked, confused.

“Actually, I was hoping she might be able to investigate, and we can get her out from under Dumbledore’s wing,” Remus told them ruthlessly.

“OK, we’ll do it,” Andromeda said firmly, “I think we can all agree that Dumbledore is bad.”

“We’ll get Bones to contact her counterpart in the mundane police; she can hand over the evidence that we collect,” Remus suggest, and the other three adults nodded.

“Don’t I get a say in all this?” Harry asked; everyone seems to have forgotten about the teen in the room.

“I would love to let you have a say, but I’m pretty sure your Father,” Remus grinned at saying that out loud, “would want to bring down any and all involved in your abuse.”

“But I feel like I’m taking up everyone’s time,” He had reluctantly allowed them to do the examination, but really he didn’t want to go any further.

“You are not; we just want to help you,” Andromeda let her motherly side out, hugging the teen carefully. All at once, the emotions got too much, and the fifteen-year-old cried into the woman’s shoulder. He had been embraced by Molly, but this was something completely different.

“Let’s get your t-shirt on, then we’ll get you a cup of tea,” Remus told the boy before the three adults left to contact Madam Bones. Harry looked up at Remus, hoping this was the right way to go about things.


	6. Six: Summer Happenings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the Kudos and Comments. I just want to remind everyone this is an Alternate Universe so I have taken liberties with relationships.

Petunia was having one of the best summers in over fifteen years. Apart from the start when her lovely little duddykins had been attacked by that awful boy, _Harry_. A strange man once claiming to know her sister had dragged her son home. He had been cold, clammy and uttering absolute gibberish. They had taken him to the hospital, but even the doctors were clueless about what had affected him. Petunia knew it was something that _freak_ did. Slowly Dudley had gotten better, now here he was, watching The _Adventures of Pete and Pete_ on the television.

Vernon was sat on his sofa reading the Sunday Times like he loved to do. All was good in her world as she sat at the window looking into Mr So and So’s window and watching Mrs Number Two’s horrible children.

“Number Two’s children are running around half-naked again, absolutely scandalous,” Petunia told her husband, who grunted. From a distance, she heard sirens. She wondered if there had been a fire in town.

“Bloody hell, they are sending the squaddies over to the European country, wassit called, erm, Bosnia. Should be sending them to Ireland,” Vernon grumbled.

“Oh, Mrs Number Two has come out to tell her kids off,” Petunia said excitedly, hoping to get some gossip for her next Community Meeting. Ha, she thought viciously, the police are coming to arrest you. The sirens she had heard were even louder

“What the blazes is that noise?” Vernon cried, throwing down his paper. He looked at the TV, thinking it was on Dudley’s show. The noise got louder.

“It’s the police to arrest Mrs Number Two and those animals she calls children,” Petunia says gleefully as she spotted a police car, van and then another police car pull into the street. However, her glee turns to a frown as the police pull up outside her house. She doesn’t notice the unmarked car pulling up in front of the police cars. She begins to panic as several officers get out of the vehicle. She now sees Mr So and So looking out his window in her direction. The other Evans’s from down the road is looking at the police cars. She sees the boy with a broad smile on his face. A knock on the door had Vernon cursing and Petunia going white as a ghost.

“Who the devil is that on a Sunday afternoon?” Vernon managed to get his walrus shaped body off the sofa and stomped to the door, opening to find a smartly dressed man. Vernon barely noticed the police van behind him. “No, we are not buying anything.”

“Are you Mr Vernon Dursley of 4 Privet drive?” the man asked.

“Yes, you’re standing in my doorway,” grumbled Vernon, the nerve of some people. “Who the hell are you?”

“I’m Detective Chief Inspector Andy Rodham of the Surrey Police. May we come in?” DCI Rodham looked at the whale of the man as he went from puce to pale in ten seconds flat.

“Erm, yes, come in,” Vernon invited the man in. A second man entered, followed by a woman in a pantsuit.

“Before anything happens, we’d like to ask you a few questions if we may,” DCI Rodham spoke.

“Of course, Petunia, why don’t you make a cup of tea for our visitors,” Vernon said nervously, “We are law-abiding citizens, so I’m sure your visit is a mistake.”

“I’m sure,” Rodham said patronisingly, “There is no need for tea, Mrs Dursley. Oh, I’d like to introduce my colleagues, Chief Superintendent Rose of the Surrey Police and a Special Consultant, Amelia Bones,”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Vernon gulped. Chief Superintendent was near the top ranks, so this was incredibly important. Petunia flicked off the tv and stood by Dudley, who had shuffled off his fat bum. She noticed the woman Amelia was looking around, especially at the pictures. She was beginning to get a strange feeling about the woman.

“Now, Mr Dursely, is a Master Harry Potter related to you?” DCI Rodham asked, looking through his notes.

“I, erm, not sure,” Vernon gulped.

“I’ll remind you, things might be worse for you if you lie,” DCS Rose added.

“Are you related to a Harry Potter?” Rodham asked again.

“Yes, he is my wives nephew,” Vernon answered.

“According to Social Services, he lives at this address. Is this true?”

“Yes!” Vernon spat out.

“Where is he?” Rose asked mildly.

“We don’t know, Sir. He ran away about a month ago after he beat up our son,” Vernon lied. Both of the policemen looked at the fat boy in disbelief, “You see, he’s a criminal; he attends St Brutus’s Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys September until June.”

“I have him attending a prestigious private school in Scotland,” DCI Rodham flipped through his notes.

“He’s a freak!” Dudley blurted, only to be silenced by his mother.

“I beg your pardon, son?” DCI Rose looked at the boy, astonished. The boxer pulled his mother’s hand away.

“He’s a wizard, does magic and all.” The three police offices tried not to laugh.

“That’s a bit fanciful,” Amelia told the boy patiently.

“You’re one of them, a witch!” Petunia’s eyes widened.

“Now see here, that’s very rude!” DCS Rose shouted, annoyed at these disgusting people.

“Are you sure the boy has run away?” Rodham was getting a little angry himself now; he was going to crack these abusers.

“Yes, Sir!” Vernon resolutely stuck to his story.

“Would it make you upset that Harry Potter was admitted into a hospital in London last nights with horrific historic abuse right up to one month ago?” DCI Rodham finally told them of his reasoning for being there.

“Everything he says is a lie; he’s a delusional criminal,” Vernon finally broke, knowing his life was about to change irrevocably.

“At this time, Vernon Dursley, we are arresting you for the abuse of a minor. You do not have to say anything. It may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something that you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence. We will allow you time to contact your solicitor when we get to the station,” Rodham read the man his rights as he pulled out his handcuffs.

“Where are you taking my little duddikins?” Petunia screeched as Rose began to read the woman her rights. Another officer had come in and was taking away the teen.

“He will be questioned then placed in a Youth Offender’s facility until his court date,” Rose answered. Then the three were led away, taken to three separate vans. Before Vernon was placed in the truck, he heard the Chief Superintendent say:

“Tear the house apart; I was every bit of evidence that will put these monsters away for life.”

Harry felt like the summer was going far too quickly. He had spent the night in St Mungo’s getting any treatment he needed. He had had to drink some vile potions to be inoculated against some of the worse magical diseases. Then Harry had spent a genuinely horrible night with the pains of growing bones. When the teen had returned to Hárasteorra Hall, he had a regime of potions to take. Not to mention Sirius now had him exercising every day, running around the grounds.

Now it was a week before the court case, and Harry was once again in the makeshift classroom with Draco. They still insulted one another, but it lacked the venom it once did. Harry and Draco had been reading the book on dark curses, though it did not actually have the incantations, the book was thousands of years old. Remus had yet to notice it missing.

“Today we are going to learn about Betrothal contracts, though some of the more progressive houses don’t use them they have played some pretty important parts in history,” Narcissa explained, going on to name several different examples where Betrothal contracts have saved a Family from dying or created an excellent business deal.

“So have the Black family been involved in Betrothal Contracts?” Harry asked.

“They’re one of the oldest traditional families,” Draco sneered at the other teen. Narcissa gave her son a pointed look.

“Actually, Lucius was contracted to be married to my sister, Andromeda,” Narcissa told them casually. Draco and Harry’s mouth s dropped open in shock. “However, before they could go through with the marriage, she ran away with Ted, so the contract was re-written for me.”

“Are there any live Betrothal contracts?” Harry asked. Narcissa looked around nervously while Draco went bright red before speaking up.

“My father signed a contract with Cyrus Greengrass ten years ago; I am to wed his daughter Astoria.”

“Astoria?” Harry tried to remember a girl called Astoria, but he could barely remember Daphne Greengrass.

“She’s a third-year Slytherin, looks very similar to her sister,” Draco explained.

“Your father made a contract when you were five to a three-year-old!” Harry looked at them, astonished.

“There have been Betrothal contracts written up at birth,” Narcissa told them gently.

“That is absolutely disgusting,”

“As I said, Betrothal Contracts can be an excellent thing, sometimes love can come from a contract and sometimes something exceptional,” Narcissa looked at Draco.

“Has Sirius been through the black vaults and found any contracts?” Harry asked jokingly but shut up when he saw Narcissa’s face. She looked at Draco before she spoke.

“Sirius wants to break your contract when he has my marriage annulled, citing the fact no Head of Black House signed off on the deal.” Draco looked almost down at the news.

“How do you feel about Astoria?” she asked softly.

“She’s funny and clever, but not exactly my choice of partner,” Draco admitted gulping. Harry, usually so oblivious, realised Draco had just come out to his mother. Harry wasn’t sure how he felt about Draco being homosexual; his Uncle and cousin were fiercely against it. He shook his head as he listened to Narcissa talking again.

“Dragon, you will always be my son. I will be happy for whoever you date,” Narcissa smiled at her son. Harry breathed out a sigh of relief, noticing the smile that Draco was trying to stop on his face.

“That’s good, mother,” the teen returned formally.

“Just smile for Merlin’s sake, your so bloody stiff.”

“You’re such a peasant, Black,” Draco sniffed, then broke out into a huge grin. Narcissa continued on with the lesson talking over several different types of betrothal contracts, from the iron-clad ones to Contracts that could be exacted hundreds of years later. It was nearing lunchtime when a chime sounded, indicating someone was at the floo.

“I wonder who that could be; Sirius didn’t tell me he was expecting anyway,” Harry spoke out loud. While he was still getting used to Sirius being his father, some days he thought it was a cruel trick fate was playing on him. He had only called him Dad once. As Draco was about to reply, one of the younger elves popped into the classroom.

“Master Harry, Lord Grosmont is in the Parlour waiting for you,” the elf squeaked. Sirius was out of the house showing his face at Grimmauld Place, which left Harry in charge of the Manor House.

“Thank you, Noj, please can you bring some refreshments to the Drawing-room,” Harry told the small creature, then turned to Draco. “Come on, Dray, time to make nice.”

“I’m always nice. Call me Dray again, and I’ll push you off your broomstick,” the boy grumbled as he followed Harry out of the classroom. Narcissa smiled; she was worried when she first arrived that the pair would kill each other after four year’s rivalry. But she was pleasantly surprised that the pair had become friends, though the two would deny it if asked.

“Lord Grosmont, welcome to Hárasteorra Hall,” Harry greeted the other boy, as he had been taught when he entered the parlour.

“Thank you, My Lord, it’s a pleasure to see you again,” Neville replied just as formally. Harry broke into a grin and pulled the boy into a hug.

“Am I glad to see you, brother? I’ve only had to put up with the troublesome twosome and this whiner for the last few weeks,” Harry dropped the noble act, pointing in the direction of Draco.

“I do not whine!” whine Draco.

“Case in point,” Harry nodded as if that settled everything. “Now, what are you doing here?”

“Your father,” Neville shook his head, “That’s weird saying that,”

“Imagine going through it.”

“Anyway, _Sirius_ invited me over to keep you both company,”

“I’m surrounded by Gryffindor’s,” Draco muttered, following the pair into the drawing-room, which had several portraits adorning the walls. Narcissa greeted Neville as she tidied up the ‘classroom’, then left as the trio settled down. The chairs were comfortable in there. If Harry wasn’t in the library, he was usually settled in front of the fire reading. Harry couldn’t wait to show Hermione the library. Now, why did he think about Hermione all of a sudden? One of the elves popped in with some butterbeer and a selection of chocolates from Honeydukes.

“Erm, I don’t mean to be rude, but how is Malfoy in your home with you? You don’t appear to have injured each other.” Neville looked Harry over as if he was under the Imperius curse.

“Actually, we get on pretty well; I took on what you said last time we spoke,” Harry replied.

“What did you say?” Draco asked suspiciously, taking a sip from his butterbeer.

“That you’re not as bad as you seem, I don’t even think you believe half the stuff that your father tells you,” Neville told him.

“It’s been an interesting couple of weeks; I’ve learnt a few truths that have made me realise some things,” Draco admitted.

“Oh man, that was like pulling a needle from my eye,” Harry said dramatically. Since seeing the Healer’s, Harry visited a Mind Healer, helping him deal with everything. His nightmares grew less frequent, and he felt much freer than he ever had; he wouldn’t admit it, but being with Draco had helped. The blond boy certainly felt like a friend, perhaps even family. The boy in question threw a pillow at Harry’s head, who giggled at him.

“Who are you, and what have you done with Harry?” Neville goggled at the brunette; he had never seen him so relaxed.

“I’ve been seeing a Mind Healer,” Harry admitted, “I’m starting to feel somewhat normal.”

“You’ll never be normal, Black. At least Remus convinced you to change those stupid glasses and get you decent clothes,” Draco teased the other boy.

“You’re hilarious, Malfoy,” Harry bit back. Neville looked between the two, shaking his head. “Come on, Nev, let’s take a tour of the Manor.”

“Sure.” Neville followed Harry out onto the grounds of the castle. They saw the stables where Harry threw Buckbeak a ferret. “So the last I heard, Sirius Black was a criminal on the run.”

“First, how exactly did you come here?” Harry asked, curious himself.

“A couple of days after we met up at Twillfit and Tattings, I had been working in my Greenhouses when grandmother called for me. Callidora, my great-grandmother, had just finished a meeting with her, and my grandmother was fuming. She sat me down to explain that I was not to look in Dumbledore’s eyes and if I was called to a meeting with him, request that McGonagall be there,” Nevile told his tale, “and then she went on to ask me what I knew about the Duke of Anglia and his heir. So I told her about meeting you.”

“Don’t worry, I think the Longbottom’s are a good ally,” Harry replied, now after several weeks of reading about Nobles and their families. Neville stopped and looked at Harry so seriously that Harry blinked.

“I know the Longbottom’s have always been staunch allies with the Potters, but we are brothers in all but blood,” Nevile said fiercely. “I know we haven’t been the closest friends for the last several years, but we should have been brothers. I, Neville Frank Longbottom, Marquess of Grosmont, last of the Longbottom line pledge my sword and my wand to the House of Black, and especially Harry Black, heir of the House of Black.”

“Wow!” Harry muttered before grasping Neville’s arm. “I, Harry Anteres Black, Heir to the House of Black, will honour your pledge and pledge my own sword and wand should my brother ever call on me.”

Magic tingled through the air as they pledged friendship and loyalty to one another, making the two teens look at each other in awe.

“So tell me, how do you really get on with Malfoy?” Neville asked, breaking the tension as they began to walk around the gardens.

“Surprisingly well, at first, I was wary of him, but he is definitely trying to change. I think you are right; he had the pressure of his father leaning on him, not to mention being watched by some darker students,” Harry considered as they walked.

“What have you been up to the last few weeks since summer began? You never did tell me how you came to be here properly,” Neville asked curiously.

“I was attacked by Dementors at the beginning of summer. Sirius found me and bought me to Hárasteorra Hall to recover because the attack unleashed my magic,” He explained.

“Oh wow, that crazy,” Neville said.

“Tell me about it, but last week we went to the continent. We met up with Fleur Delacour. Do you remember her?” Harry asked her friend, who blushed a bright red.

“I do.”

“Well, they are considering sending their youngest daughter to Hogwart’s, though we may have talked them out of it,” Harry described his mini-European adventure, “We also met the King of the Vampires.”

“You lived to tell the tale?”

“They’re not all that bad; some of the worse clans were thrown off the vampire council for siding with Voldemort. Most of the European clans just want to be left alone,” Harry sympathised with the people he had met, high up in the Alps. Harry took Neville through the Greenhouses; the other boy despaired at how they had been left but promised to come back.

“This really is a castle.”

“You should see the curtain wall; Hárasteorra Hall is a defensible castle. If you cannot apparate through the Wards, you have to arrive at the guardhouse where there are always two Elves stationed.” Harry described the castle.

“How are the Wards able to cover such a large area?” Neville asked.

“Sirius explained it all to me, I can’t remember much, but I think he said we’re on some sort of magical meeting point, which means the Wards use little family magic to feed them. We are under a Fidelius Charm, too, so only Blood can find the place; even Remus has to be connected to one of us to arrive here.”

“How’s it been with just Remus, Sirius and Narcissa? Do you miss Ron and Hermione?” Neville asked as they entered the house. Once again, Harry felt a squirm at Hermione’s name; the feeling’s had been getting stronger every day.

“Sirius is excellent; I’ve seen memories of when he was a teenager. He was a bully like James, but he seems to have matured. I think the Mind Healer has helped him a lot as well, it will take months, perhaps even years, to fully heal from Azkaban, but he’s well on his way,” Harry answered, “as for Ron and Hermione, of course, I miss them.” 

“Have-“ Harry would never hear the question because as they emerged back into the central part of the manor, Sirius emerged from the parlour with a frown.

“Hello, you two.”

“Your Grace,” Neville bowed to the older man.

“None of that here, Lord Grosmont, any friends of Harry’s is a friend of mine,” Sirius swept the boy into a bear hug before turning to Harry, “how’s the Animagus training coming along?”

“You’re training to become an Animagus?” Neville asked.

“Actually, I’ve stopped; I kept having a reaction to the plant in my mouth,” Harry explained to the pair, “so I’ve decided to give it up; some people are not meant to be Animagus.”

“That’s very mature of you,” Sirius told him.

“Instead, I’m working on further developing my Empathy,” Harry, getting a smile from Sirius and a confused look from Neville. 

“What’s Empathy?”

“It’s a rare form of magic, usually from the Black line, that allows the person to see different types of magic, as well as creatures. I’m still a beginner, but if I become efficient with it, I might be able to tell who is a werewolf or vampire,” Harry explained.

“Wow, that’s some talent; the Ministry would pay thousands of Galleons for that gift,” Nevile gasped.

“It’s quite rare and a secret Family gift,” Sirius told the boy.

“I won’t say anything,” Neville promised.

“Now, Remus told me you’ve been doing well with your Duelling, so I want to see you Duel,”

“Now?” Harry asked as Sirius led the two teens downstairs to the Duelling chamber. When they reached the large room, Remu and Draco were already there.

“I want to see you duel Draco.” The boy in question was already stretching, wearing baggy trousers and a tee-shirt. Draco knew he looked like a mundane (As Harry called them), but he found the clothing quite comfortable. Harry looked to Neville who shrugged, before taking off his outer robes. He had been wearing comfortable clothing today. Neville came up beside Remus and Sirius as the pair powered up the shield charm for spectators.

“I want you to use all that you’ve learnt, but I want a clean match,” Remus stated. “Are you ready?”

“Yep,” Harry returned.

“Ready to take him down.”

“You’ve been watching far too much mundane TV shows,” Harry grinned.

“1,2,3 go,” Remus cried.

“ _Expelliarmus_ ,” Harry shouted first, aiming his wand true.

“ _Protego_ ,” Draco returned, almost lazily calling up his shield, causing the disarming charm to rebound off the shield and disappear above them. “ _Rictusempra_.”

“Shit,” Harry swore before diving out the way, not bringing his own shield up.

“ _Reducto_ ,” Draco cried out, barely missing Harry by inches.

“This is very serious,” Neville stated, nervous for his friend.

“After Harry’s time in the Graveyard before the summer, we decided the pair needed to practise real-life situations,” Remus patiently explained to the Longbottom heir.

“ _Nebulus_ ,” Harry shouted as a swirling fog began to hide the boy from view. Now Neville could not see either boy as the fog was contained to the duelling area.

“ _Ventus_ ,” came Draco’s voice, causing a powerful wind to push away the fog, nearly causing Harry to go over. Draco smirked before flourishing his wand at the other teen. Abruptly Harry was being dangled upside down by his ankles. He remembered this spell from the memories. Snape must be teaching the Slytherin’s a thing or two.

“That’s Levicorpus, a non-verbal spell,” Remus explained.

“Draco must be pretty strong to be able to do that non-verbally,” Neville commented.

“Both the teens are quite magically talented, though I don’t think they will ever be as strong as Dumbledore or Voldemort,” Sirius added his two pence worth. Seconds later, Harry came crashing down, lying in a heap on the floor.

“Ah, the Liberacorpus, the countercurse.”

“I yield,” Harry grumbled as Draco moved towards him threateningly.

“About time I finally knocked you on your butt,” Draco laughed as he went over to help the brunette up, about the same time a chime went off.

“Ah, that would be my surprise,” Sirius told them, setting off for the parlour.

“I know it wasn’t a long battle, but go and have a quick shower, then meet us in the dining room,” Remus told them, followed by Neville.

Ten minutes later, Harry and Draco entered the dining room to find Sirius, Narcissa, Neville and a tall woman.

“Harry, Draco, I would like you to meet Lady Selwyn,” Sirius introduced the pair to the woman. As an equal in standing to the House of Black, Harry gave her a nod and kissed her hand. Draco did the same; she nodded her head slightly at the two heirs.

“It is a pleasure to meet you both; I have heard lots about you, especially you young Master Black,” Madam Selwyn spoke in a rich tone. Then Harry noticed some shallow wooden boxes with dividers in them. Unfortunately, they were covered over with white clothes.

“What’s going on?” Harry asked.

“We have heard from Regent Longbottom that Neville requires a new wand that is more suited to his talents. So it was suggested Draco and yourself got yourself a second wand, perhaps one that does not have the trace on it.” Narciss nodded her head in agreement.

“That sounds great,” Neville was the first to speak up, getting a nod from Draco and Harry in the process.

“So we can proceed?” Sirius asked the three boys, who nodded. Sirius nodded at the witch, who looked at them all in turn.

“You, Heir Longbottom, will go first,” Madam Selwyn directed the boy in front of the various artefacts. She pulled the cloth away to reveal a selection of woods on the left and multiple types of cores on the right. “Put out your hand, stop when it begins to feel warm.”

Neville looked nervously at the witch before stepping up to the table; he closed his eyes, putting out his hand. He began to move his hand over the wood until he stopped over a light coloured piece of wood.

“Ah, relatively uncommon, Willow, but it will suit you,” she moved him over slightly, so he didn’t open his eyes, then began the same process again. A couple of minutes later, he hovered above several grey hairs, “Now this is a surprise, the Greyling Bear; Gentle but incredibly strong. It suits you, Master Longbottom,”

“Thank you,” the teen replied shyly, allowing Draco to step up to the table. He grinned at the other two teens and closed his eyes, placing his hand before him. Like Neville before him, he slowly began to ‘walk’ through the woods. Narcissa expected him to once again pick out Hawthorne. But she noticed he went straight past that, stopping on dark brown wood.

“Very unusual indeed, the Silver Limewood. You will have a gift for Seeing or Leglomency,” Madam Selwyn proclaimed, then nudged the boy to continue searching for its core. It felt to Harry that it took forever for Draco to stop, but stop, he did on some white material. “Ah, the spine of the White River Monster, you certainly do have an elegance about you.”

“Your turn, Black,” Draco shoved the brunette forward, who looked over each of the artefacts with trepidation.

“These aren’t your standard materials, are they?” the teen asked.

“I am not Ollivander; I work with more _specialist_ material. That is why Duke Black has called me here. I can already see your friends are going to be forces to be reckoned with, but we already know you are powerful.”

“Go on, Harry.” Neville urged his new brother. Harry closed his eyes, trying to practice his Occlumency, breathing in and out evenly. Placing his hand above the wood, he began to move, feeling slightly chilled as his arm moved, left to right. Then a sudden warmth blossomed up his arm, making him stop. He heard a slight gasp from somewhere.

“Applewood, my Master Black, you have some high aims and ideal,” Selwyn explained.

“Saving-people,” Draco coughed, no doubting earning a glare from his mother. He felt another touch, so he began again, moving his hand over the other side. He felt like he was going through the artefacts until he suddenly heard parseltongue slip through his mind, like a musical instrument.

“Wow!” Neville muttered, so Harry opened his eyes to find a horn that seemed almost worn and frail. 

“The horn of a basilisk, as far as I’m aware, the last person to have this core was Salazar Slytherin.”

“Another reason to be called a freak,” Harry muttered.

“My only issue is that this is the only Basilisk horn I have; it may not marry well with the Applewood because it is so old,” Selwyn told them, disappointed.

“I may know where you could get some fresh Basilisk Horn,” Harry voiced his thoughts, making the others look at him strangely. He then went on to tell them about his adventure in the Chamber of Secrets and killing the Basilisk.

“It may have decayed; it depends on how cold it is down there,” Selwyn said. “You realise that this could be worth millions. The basilisk parts used today are over a thousand years old. If you were to harvest the Basilisk, you’d get millions for it.”

“Well, I don’t need much more money,” Harry shrugged.

“We’ll contact the Goblins; they may be able to sort out a deal and possibly extract the beast as well,” Sirius suggested.

“You’ll still need me to get into the Chamber of Secrets.”

“Hmm, I’ll consider that when I speak to the Goblins,” Sirius was unsure about letting the teen go down there again, especially after what he had just been told. “How long before you can finish the wands?”

“Once I have the Basilisk horn, perhaps two weeks,” Selwyn answered, “Would you like me to whittle your own wands to match?”

“What do you mean?” Harry asked.

“Well, Master Longbottom doesn’t have a suitable wand, but you already own a wand; Master Malfoy has Hawthorn with unicorn hair core. Master Black, yours is Holly with a phoenix core,” Selwyn surprised them with her knowledge of their wands. “Creating a wand is about letting the magic guide you; often, I find that wands have shapes and even animals on them.”

“Wow, that’s amazing,”

“Could you do that here? I would rather not see Harry’s wand in another’s hand; no offence meant,” Sirius looked over the woman.

“Yes, when I bring the wands to you, I will whittle your other wands. It does not take long as your wands are already finished,”

“Good, then I will escort you out,” Sirus thanked the woman as she tidied her artefacts away. Narcissa led the other adults out once the woman was finished, discussing local events.

“Well, that was certainly interesting,” Neville was the first one to speak.

“Yes, it was, but I don’t know if I’m going to be a seer,” Draco added.

“The day you divine the future is the day Goyle beats Hermione in a test,” Harry joked. The three boys all looked at each other and laughed.


	7. Seven: Basilisks, Birthdays and Cases

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the Kudo's, subscribes and reviews.

A few days after Selwyn’s visit, Harry found himself at Hogwarts hidden under the invisibility cloak standing next to Remus. Professor McGonagall and Snape were in the hall. Behind Remus were a team of goblin’s, who looked distinctly bored.

“Could you not have done this when Dumbledore was here?” the Scottish woman asked, clearly a little agitated.

“No, I was asked if we could get it done today,” Remus responded patiently.

“We have very limited time.” Duggat had taken on the role of leading the expedition.

“Will Hogwarts be receiving any of the value of the creature?” the Deputy Headmistress was keen for some Galleons to help Hogwarts.

“Harry won by right of conquest; I’m told he is having half of the conquest and giving half to the victims of the Basilisk,” Remus replied, itching to get a move on.

“That little brat doesn’t deserve anything,” Severus snapped.

“Shut up, you overgrown bat,” Remus gritted his teeth.

“Have you heard from Harry? I’m terribly worried about him.” Indeed McGonagall was wringing her hands nervously. Remus had never seen the woman like this before; perhaps she may not be as under Dumbledore’s ministrations as they thought.

“He is fine, hiding away after the Dementors attacked him.”

“How are you going to get into the Chamber? I heard only Potter can get in,” Snape demanded.

“The goblins have their ways, Severus,” Remus answered as casually as possible.

“Time is Money.” Duggat shifted the intricately carved staff, with the crystal on, before looking at the two humans. “Are we going to Harvest this Basilisk or not?”

“Yes, if you'll excuse us,” Remus nodded politely towards the pair before starting his journey towards the girls' bathroom, which Harry had told him about earlier.

“I want to be there when you harvest,” Severus demanded at the back of Lupin.

“This is official goblin business; as we don’t know how safe this will be, we cannot allow others to come with us. Only the client or clients trusted assistant may come," Duggat, who was some two-foot shorter than the potions master, stood before him impatiently. Reluctantly Snape moved away, then the group all made their way into the bathroom. Once they were all inside, one of the goblin’s began muttering in the _Olde Tongue_ at the door.

“You may come out now, Lord Rendlesham; the door has been sealed.” Harry emerged from the cloak, immediately walking over to the sink. He stared at the tiny snake, then hissed at the sink. It sunk into the ground revealing a black hole.

“Urm, we slid down there,” the goblin’s looked at him with something akin to astonishment, if their stoic faces could do that.

“I’m sure Salazar had a better way of getting down,” Remus suggested. Harry shrugged and once more looked at the snake.

“§ _Ladder_ , _Slide_ , erm _Stairs§_ ,” the first two tries failed, but the third go allowed them to hear a rumble. Then before their eyes were a set of spiral stairs. There were twelve goblins in the bathroom, another three held staffs like Duggat. There were three that appeared to be warriors, wearing leather armour and carrying different types of weapons. One had a battle axe at the ready, another had a sword sheathed but looked ready to use it; the final one had a halberd. The remaining five were all carrying what appeared to be leather backpacks.

Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, the goblins' staff lit up like a permanent Lumos charm. The four were arranged through the party. Duggat took the lead with two warriors, followed by Harry and Remus. Harry had been too preoccupied to notice how cold it was before. Remus was fascinated by the carvings on the stone walls. Soon they had reached the snakeskin, perfectly pristine and appearing poisonous green.

“You did not tell us about this when we signed the contract!” Duggat sounded disapproving as though Harry had personally lied to him.

“I had forgotten,” Harry replied simply.

“Well, this will change the contract,” he muttered before direction two of the goblins to begin harvesting it. One of the guards stayed with the collectors as they moved around the snakeskin to see the cave in with the hole just large enough to fit an eleven or twelve-year-old child. Remus stepped forward, muttering some incantation; slowly, the rocks began to move. Before Harry knew it, there was an arched entranceway that seemed to be reinforced.

“Thank you, Steward Lupin,” Duggat told him politely. Remus looked exasperated at the teen beside who shrugged, grinning at him. They followed the goblin as the tunnel turned then turned again. Memories were now starting to creep in as he remembered the horrors he had already faced down here. Finally, the tunnel ended as they moved past another bend. Ahead of the group was a solid wall on which two entwined serpents were carved, their eyes set with great, glinting emeralds. Duggat motioned him forward as, once again, Harry looked into the surprisingly alive green eyes.

“§ _Open_ §.” The serpents parted as the wall cracked open, the halves slid smoothly out of sight. Duggat and his warriors took the lead as Harry took a breath, following Remus. It was how Harry remembered it, towers rising above him into the darkness etched with serpents. The greenish gloom still filled the hall as Harry led them towards the snake, which lay silent at the base of Salazar Slytherin's statue.

“These are simply amazing; there are several scholars I know that would love to take a look in this hall,” Remus spoke, his voice little more than a whisper as he looked at the illuminated columns. Immediately the goblins set to work, two of the goblins removed staffs half the size of the light staff Duggat was holding. They placed four of them in a square, then the lights lit up red on them. Remus’ curiosity got the better of him.

“What are these?” the marauder asked as the three goblins began removing containers from their bags. The bags seemed to be like a tardis, Harry thought, because they kept drawing container after container, some as large as barrels.

“They are transporters; there is a corresponding set in the Supply Hall under Gringotts,” Duggat answered; he seemed more amiable than the Black account manager.

“What’s going to happen to the materials?” Harry asked curiously.

“As per our agreement, some of the material will go to the Black Trust vault, while the rest will be taken by our export team, who will sell them on. Obviously, once our fifteen per cent charge comes out of the money, we will give you any remaining profit.”

“Interesting.”

“Are you considering a career with Gringotts?” Duggat asked, slyly looking at the boy as he oversaw the workers.

“One of my friends,” Harry swallowed, not sure if Ron was still his friend, “his brother works for Gringotts as a Curse-breaker.”

“Ah yes, William Weasley, he is one of our rising stars.” The goblins were quick and efficient, salvaging all the parts they could from the giant snake in a little over three hours. The other team had returned with the snakeskin sending it off to Gringotts. Finally, all of the group except for Duggat, Remus and Harry were left. Duggat snapped his fingers, making the transport devices vanish on their own before following the two humans out of the Chamber of Secrets, the door closing behind them with a thud. Soon, they had reached the top of the stairs, and the sink was closing up.

“Hello, Harry,” a flirty female voice said.

“Erm, hello Myrtle,” Harry replied awkwardly as Dugggat began taking down the goblin wards.

“I see you didn’t die down there,” She floated down in front of him.

“Sorry, Myrtle, not this time,” he shrugged, “but can you do me a massive favour?”

“Anything for you.” Myrtle brushed past him as Remus tried not to laugh. 

“Can you keep it a secret that I was here?” Harry asked.

“Of course I can, please come to visit me soon,” She replied as Harry slipped on the invisibility cloak, hiding him as Duggat pushed through the door. Remus and Harry followed behind, quickly making their way through Hogwarts until they reached the entrance hall again. McGonagall stepped out of the shadows as Duggat continued on without saying goodbye.

“How did it go, Remus?” she asked.

“Pretty well, the goblin’s are pretty happy with the haul,” he responded.

“Good, how is Harry really? I heard about the dementors and was terrified for him,” McGonagall asked.

“He is really doing fine, well looked after,” Remus nearly added ‘by his father’.

“Look, just be careful, Albus has been acting strangely lately,” she spoke quietly, looking around for listeners.

“Stranger than usual?”

“I’ve caught him staring at some of the instruments, ones that monitor Harry,” the woman cautioned, then added, “he’s been worrying about the loss of Madam Pomfrey after her sudden family emergency. He also can’t get a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher this year.”

“Thank you for worrying, but Harry is hidden and cared for,” Remus responded, then wished her goodbye. Once they were close to the Wards, Harry spoke up.

“What did she mean ‘the instruments that monitor Harry’?” Harry asked.

“Dumbledore has a shelf full of instruments that are supposed to monitor you, health etc. But I heard recently that most of them stopped working, probably the day you took your heir ring,” Remus explained, “Now hold on tight.”

Clear of the Wards, Harry grabbed onto Remus’s arm as he apparated them away from Hogsmeade. Moments later, they were stood in the entranceway of Hárasteorra Hall with Harry pulling off his robe.

“Remus, Harry, is that you?” Narcissa’s voice called out.

“Yes, just got back from Hogwarts,” Remus answered unnecessarily.

“Can you join us in the drawing-room?” Harry looked at the werewolf, bewildered before following him. At the doorway, Remus moved out of the way quickly as Harry entered.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” It sounded like a hundred people; Harry noticed the Black family, including Callidora and Andromeda with her family. Draco and Narcissa were, of course, there. The sixteen-year-old then saw Neville and what appeared to be a stiff older woman.

“We know you didn’t have a proper birthday, so we thought we could have one today,” Sirius told him, receiving a massive hug from the boy in question. A table had been set up with presents behind them, while another table had finger foods on it. Harry began to greet and thank everyone. When he moved to Neville, Harry looked up at the formidable lady in a vulture hat.

“This is my daughter-in-law, the Regent Longbottom, Augusta,” Callidora introduced the woman. Callidora had taken quite a shine to the teen in the weekly meetings they had been having.

“Pleasure to meet you, Lady Longbottom,” Harry bowed, kissing her hand slightly.

“This one knows how to treat the ladies; I am very pleased to meet you, Lord Rendlesham,” Harry looked at Callidora as if questioning how Augusta Longbottom knew. Still, the very old woman just nodded her head, “Your mother was a very close friend of Alice’s. I was sorry to hear about Lily’s death though I was surprised to hear she died alongside James Potter.”

“Grandmother,” Neville looked at the older woman in horror.

“What? Alice used to talk to me especially about how Lily seemed interested in young Sirius Black.” Sirius seemed to be trying not to laugh as he grabbed Harry’s shoulders.

“Right, I think someone should open their presents.” There were nearly two dozen presents on the table. Harry had only seen that many gifts for Dudley on his birthday.

“Are these for me?” Harry looked almost awed.

“Well, they certainly ain't for me, Cousin,” Dora quipped, getting a smack around the head from her dad.

“Go on, Harry, they are all for you,” Remus spoke gently, prodding the boy to his presents. How cruel were the Muggles if Harry never got any birthday gifts? Remus thought angrily. As Harry opened some new quidditch presents, Sirius pulled him aside. Narcissa and Andromeda joined them as they all watched the teen from where they could talk without being overheard.

“How did it go today?” Sirius asked.

“He was nervous going in, but by the end, he was even joking around a bit,” Remus told the three Black’s.

“Any trouble getting in?” Narcissa asked.

“No, Snape had a tantrum, but there was nothing they could really do. Unhappy about Dumbledore not being there. However, I don’t think Professor McGonagall is quite on Dumbledore’s side as she appeared.”

“Why’s that?” Sirius asked.

“She cautioned me about Dumbledore; he’s worried about not having a DADA teacher and the fact Pomfrey left for a ‘family’ emergency,” Remus explained.

“How is she getting on?” Narcissa looked at her sister.

“Better, I was hoping she could rest at Étoile Noire after she had fully recovered, then join us if the fight’s going to get as serious as we expect.”

“I’m sure that will be fine,” Sirius answered, watching Harry open a watch (His had broken during the second task) and beam at Sirius.

“I heard an interesting bit of information today,” Andromeda told the small group, “The Muggle-born Rights act is being backed by Dolores Umbridge and Lucius Malfoy.”

“Dolores Umbridge? I don’t think I’ve heard of her,” Sirius commented.

“She is the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, a disgusting little toad,” Narcissa visibly shuddered. “Pretends she as pure as they come.”

“We may have to do something sooner in regards to Miss Granger; there is talk of adding a Muggle-born Registration,” Andromeda added. The Healer heard Harry talk about the girl so many times that she felt like she knew the Mundane-born student.

“How is Fudge letting this going through?” Sirius asked, frustrated.

“Lucius is paying him ‘donations.’” Narcissa snorted.

“The balance in the Wizengamot is towards the Dark at the moment, the neutrals have nowhere to go because of Dumbledore, but even the House of Potter proxy has been voting more for the side of the dark,” Remus said, having received some information from some of those that serve on the Wizengamot.

Meanwhile, Harry had just about finished opening all the presents, except for a few that looked like they had come from the Weasleys and Hermione.

“Where did these come from?” Harry looked around.

“They were delivered to the mailbox at Gringott’s on your birthday, I know Hedwig was itching to leave, but we couldn’t risk Dumbledore finding out where you were,” Sirius concluded the talk and answered Harry’s question.

“Even with the Fidelius and magic surrounding this place?” was Harry’s sceptical question.

“More than likely, he wouldn’t be able to find you, but we had to make sure,” Remus added, “We did find out the presents had a charm on them, though, a location charm.”

“Oh,” Harry dropped the present, which was from Ron by the way it was wrapped.

“The charms are all gone now.”

“Do you think Ron and Hermione allowed Dumbledore to put the charm on their presents? They didn’t write to me before I went in Hiding,” came the bitter reply.

“Dumbledore is very manipulative; I’m sure he talked them into it somehow,” Sirius tried to cheer up his son.

“Smile you, berk, at least you can open my present,” Draco drawled, shoving an elegantly wrapped present into Harry’s hand.

“Actually, it’s from both of us, dear,” Narcissa smiled at him. He gave her a tentative smile, unwrapping it carefully. Inside was a forest green coloured cashmere jumper with warm knitted gloves in grey and silver, Harry noted, and a beanie type hat to keep his head warm.

“Thank you so much, both of you; this really is nice of you,” Harry looked at them, surprised at the amount of thought they had put into the present.

“That’ll sit nicely next to that suit by Verlinde,” Sirius spoke up with a grin on his face.

“It’s Versace, you slobbering mongrel,” Harry laughed at the man, who immediately changed into grim form then pounced on the boy knocking him over. Padfoot then proceeded to drool all over the teen. Everybody was laughing at this point as Remus scooped up the present from Narcissa.

**DAILY PROPHET**

**Wesley Night  
**

**Dark Mark seen over Primrose Hill, London.**

**For the first time in over a decade, the Dark Mark, the mark of the terrorist organisation known as Death Eater’s, has been seen over Primrose Hill's homes in London. Primrose Hill is one of the more expensive muggle areas to live in, with most houses between G32 and 50 million. Early Friday morning, a visiting wizard, who wishes to remain anonymous, saw the dark mark.**

**Propet sources in the Auror Corps report this was the home of Justin Finch-Fletchly, a current Hogwart’s students. We currently do not have all the details, but it is believed to be the work of Werewolves…..**

The morning of the hearing, Harry lie in his bed staring up at his ceiling; he was nervous about the upcoming day. He knew the hearing wasn’t going to be a big thing, as they had explained last night, but he could still be expelled from Hogwarts. Deciding sleep was not going to come, he got up, pulling a dressing gown over his sleepwear. Stumbling downstairs, Harry found that everyone was up in the dining room. Sirius was pouring himself a coffee from the sideboard, but everyone else was at the table.

“Good morning, Harry,” Narcissa welcomed the boy as he took a seat opposite Ted Tonks, who was dressed in muggle jeans and tee.

“Good morning, Narcissa, though I’m not so sure there is anything good about it,” Harry grunted.

“This is a small hearing, the three of you worked out your strategy last night, so I’m sure you’ll come home ready for Hogwarts.” Harry had noticed in the last week or two that the woman had taken to calling Hárasteorra Hall home, and to be honest, he liked having the woman about. Once you got past the cold exterior, she was quite the loving mother who doted on Draco. She had taken to mothering him too, something he was enjoying. Narcissa was utterly different from the sometimes overbearing Mrs Weasley.

“Just remember to use your Occlumency, weak as it is. Don’t show them how you feel, don’t let them get the satisfaction,” Draco added, insulting him in the process. Harry, however, just sighed at the insult, taking in the other advice.

“Have you seen the paper today?” Remus asked a little nervously.

“Not yet; what’s happening?” Harry frowned at the man.

“Fudge’s grip on the Prophet is slipping,” Sirius murmured.

“They reported the death of your classmate, Justin Finch-Fletchly by Werewolf,” Remus admitted.

“That’s another Mundane-Born killed,” Narcissa added; everyone looked up at her.

“I’ve never heard you use that term before?” Remus asked, giving the woman a smile.

"You, Harry and Sirius use Mundane, Mundane-Born, Second-gen and First-gen so much I prefer them to Muggle, Muggle-Born, half-blood and Pure-blood,” Narcissa replied, “But, sadly, they are leaving out some facts.” 

“What do you mean?”

“I overheard things and still have my own sources in the ministry, a third-year by the name of Jones was killed with her family a few weeks ago, and a fifth-year Gryffindor also died at the hands of Death Eaters, though nothing has been published,”

“Voldemort” (everyone shuddered) “is targeting second-gens, but it seems the government want to bury their heads in the sand,” Harry snarled.

“Once this hearing is over, we will look into this further,” Sirius promised his son.

“What are your plans today?” Harry asked, whether trying to distract himself from the deaths or the hearing, no one knew.

“I have been summoned by my husband to meet him at the Ministry,” Narcissa replied casually, but everyone stiffened.

“I thought Lucius knew you were in France with Draco?” Sirius asked, taking a seat next to Remus at the head of the table.

“I mailed him last week to say we were back in the country staying with friends, so we could collect Draco’s stuff from Diagon Alley without it being suspicious,” she answered.

“Very clever,” Remus muttered.

“When do you think you’ll get our letters?” Draco mused out loud.

“It should be sometime this week,” Remus suggested.

“How will we get our letter’s if we are hidden?” the blond asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

“All letters are sent to a Gringotts dropbox, then one of the Elves goes and collects it,” was the reply from Remus explaining Harry’s mail a bit more, especially after he received presents from his so-called friends.

“I wondered why Hedwig didn’t really leave the grounds of Hárasteorra Hall, but why haven’t I received any letters from my friends?” Harry looked between Remus and Sirius, who both looked down into their bowl of porridge.

“Dumbledore!” Sirius mumbled.

“What? I didn’t hear you?”

“Dumbledore gave the order at the start of the summer that no one was to message you for your own safety,” Sirius grimaced, waiting for the explosion, then rushed on,” the Goblins also told us you had a mail redirect on you in our last meeting with them.”

“What the fucking hell!” Harry swore for the first time, slamming his fist down on the table.

“Watch your language, young man; you’re not too big to be bent over my knee,” Narcissa told him, looking scandalised. He immediately felt shame, then noticed Draco and Sirius were trying not to laugh. Silence followed for several minutes as everyone ate their breakfast.

“So Black, who do think will be the fifth year Prefect’s?” Draco spoke a little too cheerily.

“As long as it’s not you,” Harry shot back with his own grin; the table sighed a little before relaxing.

“I’m pretty sure it will be me, but what do you reckon of the Gryffindors? What about big boobs?” Draco forgot where he was until he cried out in pain as his mother slapped his head.

“That’s it, you are both grounded until we go to Diagon Alley,” Narcissa told them sternly.

“Yes, Ma’am,” the pair of them intoned.

“I think it will be Neville and Hermione,” Harry said quietly.

“Well, Nev can’t be as bad as Remus. He was so uptight when he was a Prefect,” Sirius tried to lighten the mood.

“I was not! How many pranks did you and James get away with?” Remus spoke up indignantly.

“Far too many,” Narcissa said with the patience of a saint, “Especially when they were aimed at the Slytherin’s.”

“But they make the best targets,” Sirius pouted, trying to make puppy dog eyes at his cousin.

“I swear one moment, you’re a normal adult, then the next you’re a child!” Narcissa grumbled.

“Because he is a child!” Remus called out.

“Very funny, you lot always pick on me,” the marauder started acted like a petulant child. Ted Tonks had watched the whole exchange and was trying not to laugh at them. Harry looked up at the clock before swallowing his porridge which had suddenly become cement in his mouth.

“I’m going to go have a shower before we have to leave,” Harry suggested, his voice betraying him. The mood in the room dimmed as they all wished him a bit of good luck as Ted followed him upstairs to the guest room.

Thirty minutes later, Harry found himself in his father’s study, looking at the taller man. Sirius brushed off some lint from his shoulders, inspecting him. Harry was wearing smart trousers, a shirt and a grey jumper similar to school clothes, but much nicer. Over the top, he wore a black cloak with a maroon border identical to the Black family Colours, which were surprisingly not black. On his left breast was the Black Family sigil, which was currently glamoured until the right moment.

“What will you be doing today?” Harry asked nervously as they waited on Ted, though they were still early for the hearing.

“Actually, I’m going to visit Grimmauld Place. Have to make an appearance, especially on the day my _godson_ has his hearing,”

“What are they saying about it?” He was anxious to hear news about his friends.

“Fred and George are making their usual jokes, and Hermione has been using the ‘safe’ books in the library to try to help you.”

“That’s Hermione all right; she’s such a good friend.” Sirius noticed the blush on the teen’s face, but this time decided not to say anything about it.

“What about Ron?” Harry asked eagerly but noticed Sirius tried to look away.

“He hasn’t really said much, to be honest,” the Animagus answered a little bit too quickly, but before Harry could question him further, Ted knocked on the door. He also was dressed smartly in black robes and a briefcase under his arm.

“Are you ready to go?” He smiled at the teen, trying to put him at ease. Harry took a deep breath, centring himself before his ‘Malfoy-mask’ as he called it was put on.

“I’m ready,” Harry answered. Ted moved over to the fireplace and took a pinch of Floo powder.

“Ministry of Magic, Atrium!” Ted called out. Sirius pulled the teen into one last hug before letting Harry follow his lawyer through the fireplace. Harry emerged into the atrium of the Ministry out of a gilded fireplace. Opposite them, witches and wizards were leaving the Ministry through another series of fireplaces. Harry really only noticed the highly polished dark wood floor as he was too caught up in his thoughts. Harry was led to the security desk, where his wand was weighed, and he received a receipt from the bored security guard.

“As we’re early, I wish to visit a couple of friends,” Ted told his new client. He led them towards the lifts, which were pretty smug.

“What level?” a House-elf grunted.

“Level two, please,” Ted told the creature with a smile. Ten minutes later, they emerged from the lift onto the Department of Magical Law enforcement. “This will be where you have your hearing, probably in front of Mafalda Hopkirk and four others, including a representative from the educational board and someone from Hogwarts,”

The corridor was shaped like a T; Ted was pointing to the left where several rooms were. However, he led Harry straight down past a set of heavy oak doors, which read: Auror Office above it. Harry wanted to get a glimpse because he was considering it as a career. Harry, though, was led straight past that to a door, which read Wizengamot Administration Services. Inside was a small room, which held about four or five cubicles in it.

“Hello, Ted, what brings you down here?” a female voice asked. Harry noticed a busty blond grinning at the man.

“Just visiting, Vera, thought I’d show my nephew around,” Ted threw out casually. “I’ve got a case later today.”

“Oh, I hope it’s not cancelled. There’s a big court case in Court Ten today taking up all of the Wizengamot,” Vera gossiped with the man.

“I hadn’t heard about that. Have they caught Sirius Black then?” Ted asked casually, “Court Ten, that is serious. They only ever use that for the full meetings once a month.”

“No, Sirius hasn’t been caught.” Vera laughed.

“I heard it was to do with Harry Potter,” another of the secretaries suggested.

“Really? I bet that will be interesting,” Ted said, keeping his voice steady. “I would love to be in the gallery for that. Can you just check the parchment work for me, love?”

“Oh, you’re such a sweety; no wonder Andromeda snagged you,” Vera giggled like a schoolgirl, then began looking through the parchment on her desk. “Here it is, Courtroom Ten, British Ministry of Magic versus Harry Potter scheduled for 9am this morning.”

“You are an absolute angel, perhaps a box of Honeydukes Chocolate for you, but if I want to get in there, we’d best leave now,” Ted told them with a smile. As the door closed, they heard the girls talking about the chocolate Vera might be getting. This time the lift was empty as they got in to take them to Level nine-Department of Mysteries. Once they reached the Level, Ted pulled Harry into a side corridor, then down a set of stairs to Level Ten, the courtrooms.

“I thought you said it would be a small Hearing?” Harry squeaked.

“Calm down, Harry, I need you to put your Malfoy Mask on,” Ted told him, getting a small laugh out of the boy. As Ted talked through a few last-minute instructions, Harry calmed down before putting on his stoic face. Once they were ready, Ted looked at the time seeing it was two minutes to nine. He quickly guided Harry through the corridors until they reached a door guarded by Aurors. Harry saw ‘Accused’ written above the wooden doors.

“Who are you?” one of the Aurors asked.

“This is Harry Potter, and I am his lawyer, Ted Tonks,” the man told them, showing the pair his credentials.

“You are late,” one of the Aurors said as Harry heard Fudge speak.

“Good morning ladies and Gentlemen, Lords and Ladies, we are here today, the Twelfth day of August Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Five to determine the guilt of Harry James Potter for the use of underage magic and breaking the Statute of Secrecy.” 

“Yes, but as you can see, we are needed in there now,” Tonks argued. They heard a muffled noise, then the Minister of Magic spoke again.

“Yes, Delores.” Fudge said patiently.

“It seems the criminal has absconded, without even coming to his trial” a few murmurs ran through the crowd at the use of criminal. Harry was really starting to get worried at this point.

“Now, stand aside and let me through. I will be speaking to Madam Bones about this,” Ted said. Reluctantly the two Aurors stood aside, opening the doors for them. They entered; on either side of them were stands as they moved into the courtroom. The door closed behind them as Harry noticed a chair with chains next to a table.

“Ah, then we shall continue and lay the charges in the boy’s absence.” Fudge sounded almost gleeful. “You may lay down the charges, Madam Bones.”

“Harry James Potter is accused of using magic in front of one Dudley Dursely, a Muggle, on 10th July nineteen-ninety-five. As Mr Potter was only fourteen at the time, he is underage and has also broken the Statute of Secrecy.” Bones concluded. He had his first look as the Wizengamot. A clerk was near the floor in front of Minister Fudge, an elderly man and a woman in an ugly pink jumper. Behind them sat six chairs, each with a coat of arms on them. He picked out the Black Coat of Arms on the gilded central chairs. Three of the other chairs were occupied; behind them, the chairs reached right back.

“As the…eh hem…accused is not here, we shall vote in his absence for the use of magic in front of a Mug-” Minister Fudge spoke, and Harry narrowed his eyes, now angry.

“Surely, Minister, I have a right to defend myself before you ask for a judgement,” Harry addressed the crowd before Ted could stop him.


	8. Eight: Friends and Foes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you for the comments, kudos and Subscriptions. There are parts of this chapter lifted straight from Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix.

Sounds greeted Harry as he stepped out of the Floo into a dark and dingy room. The curtains were moth-eaten, and the sofas looked like they had seen better days. A thick layer of dust hung over the mirror, but what surprised Harry the most were the portraits. He could barely see who was in them.

“Have you been here before?” Harry asked Ted quietly.

“Once or twice with Andromeda, Grimmauld Place is not the most inviting place to visit,” Ted grimaced as he kicked up some dust.

“Right then, let’s get on with the show,” Harry grinned before once again putting on his ‘Malfoy-mask’. Harry was in the lead this time as he followed the sounds down a set of stairs to a quivering wooden door, light spilling out from around the edges. Harry took a deep breath, jumping when he felt something twining around his feet. He looked down to find Crookshanks purring up at him.

“Whose cat?” Ted asked.

“Hermione’s, I’m glad to see someone is pleased to see me,” Ted smiled at the back of Harry’s head as the teen pushed the door open. The table inhabitants kept talking for a few minutes; Harry watched his most hated professor, Snape, sat alongside Remus, who had a slight grin on his face. Then:

“HARRY JAMES POTTER! WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?” Hermione’s voice rang out, silencing the room before he received a hermy-hug. He put his arms around the young woman, smelling parchment, books and vanilla soap. Now, this was coming home; he felt so comfortable with the witch in his arms. Suddenly she stepped back and looked up at him; Harry was taller than her by a few inches but not a lot.

“You have scared us all to death; no one knew where you were or knew anything except Dementors had attacked you,” Hermione spoke in a rush, the words tumbling out at once. Harry took the room in. Sirius was leaning back in his chair, looking comfortable as the lord of the manor. Ron was frowning at him, though he noticed Ginny was glaring at Hermione. He wondered what that was about? The twins were both grinning, and the Weasley parent’s seemed happy to see him.

“Yes, Harry, my dear boy, we would all like to know where you have been,” a voice spoke from behind them. Albus Dumbledore entered the room, followed by Kingsley Shacklebolt, who he had seen earlier, and then his cousin herself, Tonks.

“I told you, Headmaster,” Harry spoke to the man coldly, “You may refer to me as Lord Rendlesham if you wish to address me,”

“You will respect the Headmaster, you brat!” Severus Snape spoke just as he heard a Scottish-accented voice say.

“Mr Potter, please show some respect.” Harry had not noticed the Deputy Headmistress, making herself a cup of tea.

“What do you mean, Lord Rendlesham?” Hermione’s voice spoke up.

“I mean no disrespect to Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall, but Professor Dumbledore seems to be overly familiar with me. He refers to Hermione as Miss Granger and Ron as Mr Weasley, so why not me as Mr Potter?” Harry asked the Transfiguration teacher.

“Well then, I can understand that, but still, you must respect one’s professor.”

“Yes, Ma’am, I apologise,” Harry answered contritely, but Ted knew it was an act as Harry gave a small smirk and bowed to Sirius, “Your Grace, you have been wholly exonerated. Expect to see it in the Daily Propet tomorrow.”

“Haha, you pulled a fast one over them, kiddo,” Sirius launched himself out of his chair to hug the stuffing out of his son as Remus laughed out loud. Snape had a sour look on his face.

“What do you mean? Sirius is free?” McGonagall asked, “Were you not having a short hearing? Albus was to attend as the Hogwart’s representative.” 

“What happened?” Arthur added. Harry gave a quick glare to the Headmaster before turning to the woman.

“No, Ma’am, I was taken before the full Wizengamot!” Shouts echoed around the room at that statement; everyone seemed to be up in arms about it. Harry noticed Hermione had not moved too far away and was studying him closely.

“You were what?” Remus stood up with a growl.

“I can confirm, there was a full Wizengamot session today, Ministry versus Harry…” Dora spoke up, not finishing her sentence as she winked at him.

“What happened, dear?” Mrs Weasley looked like she was itching to hug him.

“My lawyer and I just made it in time; they looked like they were just about to pass judgement in my absence,” Harry explained as Ted stepped out, introducing himself, though many of the adults already knew him.

“You should have seen them. Harry wiped the floor with them. Fudge was going purpler and purpler until he looked set to explode, then Madam Bones called the recess,” Dora couldn’t help herself. She was like an excited child.

“Nymphadora!” Ted shouted.

“Sorry, dad!” she looked at the ground but couldn’t help the grin on her face.

“How did you get Fudge to agree to exonerate me, kiddo?” Sirius asked.

“He out-manoeuvred them. Tiberius Ogden, Madam Bones and Minister Fudge all come in to speak to Harry.”

“That is powerful people,” McGonagall breathed. Harry though heard Ron mutter:

“Always knew you were a snake.” He wasn’t sure if anyone else heard, but Hermione frowned.

“After witnessing Harry’s memories and seeing Sirius’s, they exonerated His Grace,” Ted finished.

“That’s where you disappeared to; I thought I heard someone around the Floo,” Arthur spoke up.

“Why is everyone calling Sirius, His Grace?” Hermione asked, always thirsting for knowledge.

“Sirius Black is the last Duke of Anglia and the Head of the House of Black, one of the Heads to the Ancient and Noble Houses. The last four Big houses,” Remus got himself into lecture mode.

“The Weasley’s are also an Ancient House, though I did not notice you at the Wizengamot today, Mr Weasley?” Harry looked at the man, confused; he really liked the red-head.

“I’ve been ashamed; one of my past ancestors nearly ruined the House, now we are in the state we are in,” Arthur looked down at his shoes.

“Perhaps the House of Black could help you. We are looking for new alliances,” Harry suggested, though only two picked up on the, we; Molly and Hermione.

“That is a great idea; I would be willing to discuss the subject with you. Arthur, I would like for you to bring your House to greatness once again,” Sirius added.

“I’m not sure I can; I don’t really like the title.”

“Perhaps I can help; you’ve taught me everything about being Lord Weasley,” a new voice spoke up from a door. Harry smiled at the man, Bill Weasley was tall and slim, but he looked almost like a young lord.

“You would give up Curse Breaking?” Molly asked.

“If father handed the title down to me, I would be willing,” Bill answered with a twinkling in his eye. Harry knew there more to him giving up his job, but he would find out later.

“Good, we shall set a time to meet then,” Sirius grinned, happier than he had been in a long time.

“Why the we? And the Lord Rendlesham?” Harry sighed, knowing Hermione would not have let it go. He really did not want to get into it in front of Hermione.

“Perhaps it’s time to make the announcement,” Sirius looked at Harry.

“It’s going to be in the Prophet tomorrow anyhow.” Ted nudged him, so the teen nodded.

“I, proudly, introduce my son Harry Anteres Black, my heir, and fruit of my loins,” Harry shook his head at his Dad; sometimes, he could never be serious.

“What?” Ron shouted as McGonagall spat out her cup of tea. Harry loved the look on Snape’s face.

“I thought James Potter was your father?” Hermione asked.

“So did most everyone else,” Harry muttered, taking a look at Dumbledore, who had a shrewd look on his face, which disappeared when he noticed Harry watching him.

“Lily and I had always been friends, though she thought James and me were childish idiots we had always got along. After a bullying incident with James, I ended up comforting Lily, and we grew closer,” Sirius eyes Snape, whose hands were virtually embedded in the table. “We started dating after Christmas our fifth year; the rest, as mundanes like to say, is history.”

“How did you not know about Harry being your son, then?” Again, trust Hermione to ask all the tough questions. Sirius’s eyes met Harry’s; then the man winked at him.

“Living in Azkaban, you tend to lose some memories even in my dog form; I find my pre-prison days hazy. When we visited Gringott’s, my Lily flower had left some memories to remind us all of happier days,” Sirius lied as Harry felt something at his hand, then Hermione’s fingers entwined with his. Immediately his heart-rate went up. Remus gave him a crooked smile; Harry knew he would be the butt of his and Sirius jokes for the rest of the summer.

“That is so sweet,” Hermione sighed.

“Where have you been all this time?” Arthur cleared his throat, trying to dispel a little tension in the room.

“As you know, my cousin and I were attacked by Dementors, but I just managed to fight them off. Whether it was the family magic or what, but Dad managed to find me.” Sirius beamed at him, as Harry had barely used the word. Though out of the corner of his eye, he was watching Dumbledore. “I was taken to Hárasteorra Hall, the Black ancestral home, and have been recovering ever since.”

Harry took a glance around; Mrs Weasley’s face almost seemed to be gleaming though he might know why. He chanced a look at Ginny; she was staring at him like a love-sick fan. Not if I can help it, Harry thought.

“So Sirius has been there this whole time?” McGonagall asked. He knew Hermione wanted to say something, but he squeezed her hand. She immediately understood, leaning a little closer to him.

“I was coming back and forth to keep up appearances, but I felt Harry was in the safest place possible,” Sirius responded, meeting Dumbledore’s eyes.

“I think perhaps we should have our meeting then,” Dumbledore suggested.

“Yes, I think all the children should leave so we can have it,” Mrs Weasley suggested.

“Oh, you meant the Order of Phoenix meeting, discussing the latest Second-gen’s death. Perhaps you can answer some question-“

“No, you’re too young,” Mrs Weasley spoke. She was sitting bolt upright in her chair, her fists clenched upon its arms.

“Since when did someone have to be in the Order of the Phoenix to ask questions?” asked Sirius, “I’ve told him little because I felt the Headmaster could answer his questions better.”

“Hang on!” interrupted George loudly.

“How come Harry gets his questions answered?” Fred looked around the room angrily.

“We’ve been trying to get stuff out of you for a month, and you haven’t told us a stinking thing!” George added as Harry heard a noise, several other members of the Order of Phoenix had arrived. He recognised them from a photo Sirus had shown him; a much more aged Mundungus Fletcher looked like a pile of rags. A young dark-haired woman had taken a seat next to the prickly potions master.

“‘ _You’re too young, you’re not in the Order_ ,’” said Fred, in a high-pitched voice that sounded uncannily like his mother’s. “Harry’s not even of age!”

“It’s not my fault you haven’t been told what the Order’s doing,” said Sirius calmly. “That’s your parents’ decision. Harry, on the other hand —”

“It’s not down to you to decide what’s good for Harry!” said Mrs Weasley sharply. She seemed to have forgotten about who he was now. Her normally kindly face looked dangerous as she looked at the elderly Headmaster. “You haven’t forgotten what Dumbledore said, I suppose?”

“Which bit?” Sirius asked politely but with an air as though readying himself for a fight. He, in turn, looked at Dumbledore, inviting him to speak up, but Dumbledore let someone else do it for him.

“The bit about not telling Harry more than he needs to know,” said Mrs Weasley, placing a heavy emphasis on the last three words. Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George’s heads turned from Sirius to Mrs Weasley as though following a tennis rally. Lupin’s eyes were fixed on Sirius, wondering why he was arguing when the marauder had the upper hand.

“I don’t intend to tell him more than he needs to know, Molly,” said Sirius. “But as he was the one who saw Voldemort come back” (again, there was a collective shudder around the table at the name), “he has more right than most to —”

“He’s not a member of the Order of the Phoenix!” said Mrs Weasley. “He’s only fifteen and —”

“— and he’s dealt with as much as most in the Order,” said Sirius; Harry looked over at his father, who seemed to be enjoying the argument, “and more than some —”

“No one denies what he’s done!” said Mrs Weasley, her voice rising, her fists trembling on the arms of her chair. “But he’s still —”

“He’s not a child!” said Sirius impatiently. His patience seemed to have snapped.

“He’s not an adult either!” said Mrs Weasley, the colour rising in her cheeks. “He’s not James, Sirius!”

“I know who he is, thanks, Molly,” said Sirius coldly.

“I’m not sure you are!” said Mrs Weasley. “Sometimes, the way you talk about him, it’s as though you think you’ve got your best friend back!”

“What’s wrong with that?” said Harry, knowing that his father was his friend no matter what the woman said.

“What’s wrong, Harry, is that you are not your father, however much you might look like him!” said Mrs Weasley, her eyes still boring into Sirius.

“Actually, I look more like my grandfather,” Harry responded quietly.

“What was that, dear?” She tried the motherly act.

“I said I look more like Arcturus than Sirius; you seem to have forgotten that he is my father,” Harry spoke up louder, his voice like ice.

“Don’t speak to my mother like that,” Ron’s ears had gone red.

“You are still at school, and adults responsible for you should not forget it!”

“Meaning I’m an irresponsible father?” demanded Sirius, his voice rising.

“Meaning you’ve been his father for all of two minutes, you’ve been known to act rashly, Sirius, which is why Dumbledore keeps reminding you to stay at home and —”

“We’ll leave my instructions from Dumbledore out of this if you please!” said Sirius loudly, again staring at the Headmaster, who had yet to say anything.

“Have your meeting; I don’t want anything to do with the Order of the Phoenix,” Harry snapped, then turned to Sirius, “Tell me when you are done so that we can go home.”

Harry released Hermione’s hand and stomped out of the kitchen, not knowing exactly where he was going, but ended up in what appeared to be a living room. Similar to the drawing-room back at Hárasteorra Hall, but dark and gloomy with dust everywhere. He sat down on one of the chairs, a plume of dust going into the air.

“Really, Harry, bottle everything up. Don’t tell people what you really think,” Fred said sarcastically but had a grin on his face as he entered.

“Yeah, I’ve never seen mum speechless,” George joined him, followed by Hermione, Ron and Ginny. Hermione took a seat on the sofa with him while the twins took a chair opposite. Ginny sat down on the floor, but Ron remained standing, the back of his neck bright red. Harry really didn’t care what Ron thought at this moment.

“I thought Dumbledore might actually answer some of my questions, should have guessed he wouldn’t,” Harry told them but didn’t add anything else. Hermione frowned at him; he knew she still respected authority figures.

“So what’s Sirius like as a Dad? He hasn’t been around much-“

“Now we know why,” George finished for his brother.

“Actually, I’m still getting used to it. I only found out a few weeks ago myself,” Harry responded. The others all looked at him in trepidation, but he just smiled at them, not knowing really want to say.

“And Hárasteorra Hall, am I pronouncing that correct?” Hermione now asked, “What's that like?"

"It's been great there; Sirius and Remus have been helping out a lot. I was rather ill when they bought me to Hárasteorra Hall. Now I've been having lessons with them, they bought in someone to teach me about etiquette and Potions," Harry could see on Hermione's face she looked envious of him, that he was getting extra lessons. He was considering inviting her to Hárasteorra Hall, but he wasn't sure how she would react to Draco's presence there.

"So you've got even richer," Ron spoke up, venom dripping from his voice. Harry was surprised, this was his best friend, or so he thought.

"Well, yes, but it's not because I wanted too. To be honest, I'm happy that I've got a family," Harry told the red-head.

"I bet you made it up about He Who Must Not Be Named, trying to get attention again," the red-head stubbornly said. It reminded Harry of the beginning of the fourth year when Ron didn't believe him about the Goblet of Fire, but he thought Ron had matured since then. He heard Hermione gasp, and the twins were glaring at their younger brother.

"I think it's time you leave now; we wouldn't want any of your jealousy to cloud the room," Fred told the boy in a voice of stone. Ron looked at his brothers, then to Hermione, who refused to look at him then snapped around and left them on their own.

“Do you realise the Death Eater’s have only been targeting Muggle-Borns?” Hermione changed the subject, though it took a few minutes for his brain to catch up.

“Call them Mundane-Born.”

“Excuse me?” Hermione stared at her best friend.

“I’ve come to dislike the name Muggle, Muggle-born and pure-bloods,” Harry explained. “So Mundane is an average person, Second-gen is a half-blood and First-Gen is a Pure-blood. Mundane born is-“

“Someone born of Mundane parents, I like that better,” Hermione agreed.

“What do you know, then?” Harry asked them. He noticed Ginny had started listening a bit more intently as she sat on the floor.

“We managed to catch a bit of the Order meetings; five Mundane-born families have now been killed, but the Order doesn’t know what to do about it,” Fred leaned forward using the term Harry had introduced to them.

“We think that’s why Hermione’s been bought here, for protection,” George finished.

"So what have you all been up to?" Harry asked, trying to lighten the mood from the talk of death, especially those like Hermione. He would have to think on the subject a little later when he returned home.

"Cleaning, lots and lots of cleaning," Fred spoke, before pointing at Ginny, “this one has barely been here all summer.”

“Oh, where have you been?” Harry looked curiously at the youngest Weasley. He also noticed her shorts were shorter than usual, and her tank top didn’t leave a lot to the imagination.

“America, to a summer camp,” she sounded bored, but watching her carefully, he could see she kept glancing at him.

“What’s a summer camp?”

“It’s a camp for children, usually Mu-Mundane, but one in New York is for Wizards and Witches,” Hermione recited. Harry smiled warmly at the girl who seemed to know everything.

“So that’s what you’ve been doing, just cleaning?” Harry asked.

“And reading the Prophet!” George replied darkly.

“Tell him about it!” Fred continued.

“Well, you know Percy’s been working at the Ministry. A couple of weeks ago, he returned home telling us all that he had been promoted,” Fred began to explain.

“You’re kidding!” Harry looked flabbergasted at the three of them.

“We were as surprised as you,” Fred took up the story, “especially given the whole Crouch affair. The investigation said Percy should have known the old man was crazy….”

“So how did he end up being promoted?”

“He came home that week looking all pleased with himself, told Dad he’d been offered a job in the Minister's office as Junior Assistant to the Minister, dead pleased because he was literally just out of school,” Fred continued, “I think Percy expected Dad to be pleased with him or something because he kind of looked at him expectantly.”

“But Dad was less than impressed,” George butted in.

“Why wasn’t your Dad impressed? I always thought he was so proud of all his children.”

“Usually, yes, he would be, but Fudge has been out for blood. Thinks Dumbledore is after his job, so he’s been shoring up any holes, making sure no one is in contact with the Headmaster,”

“They also think he’s trying to stir up trouble by saying You Know Who’s back. Anybody in league with Dumbledore has been told to clear their desks,” Fred popped back in.

“Fudge has never liked Dad because of his Muggle obsession, but he also knows Dumbledore is mates with Dad,” George finished.

“So how does all this concern, Percy?” Harry was confused at this point, looking at Hermione to explain things.

“Dad thinks Percy was promoted so that he had a spy in the family-and Dumbledore.” Harry let out a low whistle, as Fred explained.

“Oh yeah, that would set Percy off.”

“Yep, Perfect Percy went absolutely berserk. Said a load of really horrible things to Dad and about how the family were so poor because he had no ambition. The next thing we knew, Percy had packed his bags up and left for London. Mum tried to visit, but he shouted at her and said he knew where his loyalty lies,” George told Harry.

“Absolute Prick,” Harry swore; Hermione looked like she was about to say something when shouting reached their ears. Harry was quickly on his feet and entered the main hallway, followed by the rest of them. Ron ran down the stairs. As they reached the kitchen doorway, the shouting could be clearly heard.

“DON’T YOU THINK HARRY SHOULD KNOW THE TRUTH!” Sirius bellowed anger could clearly be heard in his voice.

“NO, HE’S TOO YOUNG! HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN LEFT WITH THE DURSLEYS, SO HE WAS SAFE!” Mrs Weasley’s voice came back. Harry wondered how the women could think that surely she had seen some of the signs of abuse. During the last few weeks, he had come to accept he had been abused while talking to the Mind Healer.

“Are you so far up Dumbledore's ass, you cannot see the signs of Harry’s abuse?” Sirius’s voice was quieter, more deadly. Harry entered to see his father standing at one end with Mrs Weasley standing in the middle. Dumbledore, too, stood at the table's head, his face briefly flittered through several emotions before he put on his grandfatherly mask.

“That will be quite enough, Sirius. You can leave if you think we are not doing enough,”

“You would invoke the oaths of the Order of the Turkey, so I cannot tell Harry anything,” Sirius's voice was deadly now. Dumbledore looked at the man sternly, not realising Harry and the other youths were now in the kitchen.

“I only placed Harry with the Dursley’s because I did not want him to grow up arrogant and cocky,” Dumbledore replied. The Duke of Anglia’s face went white with fury.

“You have exactly ten minutes to leave Grimmauld Place!” the order members stared at the man.

“Excuse Me?” Dumbledore looked astonished. Sirius drew himself up, and Harry could see the swirls of family magic. The teen grabbed Hermione’s hand, ushering her into the hallway. The others were all staring into the kitchen as Harry tried to remember what he had been taught in his lessons.

“Maiden Granger, I offer you Sanctuary in the House of Black. As Marquess of Rendlesham, I offer you my personal protection as a Vassal of the House. Do you accept?” Just as Harry rushed those last words, Sirius spoke.

“I, Sirius, 15th Duke of Anglia, Head of the House of Black invoke _Blaec cneoris dwolcræft_ , any magic cast upon this house will be stripped away. The Order of Phoenix shall no longer be able to meet here, and as long as I am Head of House, no Black shall be tied to the Order nor serve its leader,” Sirius invoked ancient magic built into the house, several of the members knew exactly what it meant. Tonks was astonished at what her Head of House was doing. “You have ten minutes to leave before the magic comes into force and ejects you from the house forcefully.”

“You cannot be serious about this.”

“I’ve told you before not to make an enemy of the Black’s; you allowed my son to be abused, you’ve meddled in far too many things. Your day of recompense is coming.” Harry was not sure who this man was; he had never seen his father like this before. Chairs began to shuffle as members soon began to move.

“You cannot just kick us out,” Mrs Weasley screeched.

“We will make sure your belongings make their way to you,” Remus told her solemnly. She stared at the werewolf then huffed, knowing she had lost this battle. Everyone began leaving quickly except for Tonks, who stood stock-still. McGonagall stayed too looking between Sirius and Dumbledore.

“Was Harry really abused?” the Scottish woman asked as most of the Order filtered out of the front door. Only the Weasley’s remained in the hallway.

“Yes,” Sirius replied. The Deputy headmistress nodded her head and said no more; she met Remus’s eyes then left as well. All that remained were the Weasley Family, Remus, Dumbledore and Hermione. Ted was now stood next to his daughter in the kitchen.

“This is a tricky game you are playing, Sirius; you do not want to fight me,” Dumbledore spoke lowly.

“I think it’s best you leave, Headmaster; neither of us wants to see how the Black magic would react to you,” Remus spoke more firmly than he had ever spoken to the man. In the hallway, Mrs Weasley was bustling everyone out; Hermione still had her hand in Harry’s.

“Come on, Hermione, you can stay at the Burrow,” Ron gestured for her to follow.

“Yes, dear, you are welcome to stay with us,” Mrs Weasley voice had a pleasant syrupy tone to it. Hermione’s mind was racing; she had read all the articles in the paper recently. Knew the upcoming changes that were happening in the wizarding world. While she was angry at the elitism being exercised, magic was literally in her veins, and she didn’t want to give that up. She also admitted to herself she didn’t want to leave Harry.

“Yes, Harry,” she told him. Harry’s face lit up, making butterflies fly around in her stomach.

“Hermione, let’s go,” Ron spoke just as Dumbledore left the kitchen to find the Weasley’s on one side, Hermione and Harry on the other side.

“You better leave, Ronald; I have accepted Harry’s offer,” Hermione told him. Dumbledore looked at them in surprised, wondering what Harry had offered.

“You filthy little mud-“ whatever else Ron was about to say was cut off as he was silenced then dragged away, mouthing unheard words. His face was a violent shade of red. Dumbledore took one last look at Harry before disappearing in a whirl of purple robes. Silence echoed through the house as a wave of magic swept through the townhouse ruffling curtains. Harry, still holding Hermione’s hand, led her back into the kitchen.

“What just happened?” Harry asked.

“I think I just declared war on Dumbledore,” Sirius answered, suddenly slumping forward.

“Well, the plan moved faster than we anticipated,” Remus spoke, looking at his old friend.

“What plan?” Hermione asked, the four adults looking at her as though seeing the young woman for the first time.

“How is Hermione still here? She should be forcibly ejected?” Remus looked confused.

“I, erm, offered her Sanctuary in the House of Black. Personally offered her safety,” Harry responded.

“Well, this changes things, but not a whole lot,” Sirius looked between the two, still holding hands.

“Right then, can someone explain to me what you invoked, Sirius?” Harry asked curiously; he knew Hermione was dying to know. The dog-animagus looked to his old friend, the lecturer, to explain.

“Sirius is the Head of House Black. The Black’s were originally from the Kingdom of the Angles, which is now-“

“East Anglia so Norfolk and Suffolk,” Hermione interrupted.

“Ten points to Gryffindor, yes, the family has always come from there and many of the first Black’s crafted spells from Old English instead of Latin. They are one of the oldest magical families in Britain. What Sirius used was _Blaec cneoris dwolcræft,_ which literally translates to Black Family magic. Any new magic would be wiped from the house, and those not of Black blood would be forcibly ejected,” Remus continued his explanation.

“Why wasn’t Miss Tonks, Mr Tonks, and Professor Lupin ejected then?” Hermione asked.

“Ted is a Black by marriage, Nymphadora is a Black by blood,” Harry smirked at the Auror, who offered him the finger, “and Remus is the Steward of House Black,”

“I sort of understand,” the young woman nodded, though Harry knew she would thirst for more knowledge than that.

“I think we need to call a Family meeting, perhaps speak to Regent Longbottom,” Sirius suggested.

“I think we need to speak to our allies; the last Wizengamot of the summer is happening next week, we’re going to need to see if we can resurrect the Old Alliance,” Remus suggested.

“What’s the Old Alliance?” Harry asked curiously.

“Let’s just get you home first, then we’ll talk about it,” Sirius replied, getting up.

“You need to go to that press conference this afternoon, then we’ll organise the family meeting,” Remus told his friend.

“Is Hermione staying with us?” Harry asked.

“You’ve offered her Sanctuary now, kiddo; she can stay in the Purple room,” Sirius replied, leading them out of the kitchen. Hermione noticed Harry was looking a bit flushed but knew better than to ask him what it meant, or she would embarrass him.

“How does Sanctuary work? I heard the word Vassal,” Hermione asked, eager to get any and all knowledge.

“It means that at the moment, you are protected by the House of Black, which, as explained, is one of the oldest houses. Should someone attack you, they will have to deal with the House and Harry personally. Even the Allies will step in to protect you,” Remus explained moments after they entered the lounge area where the Floo was.

“What about my family; my mum, dad and little brother?” Hermione looked at them earnestly.

“Hold on, little brother? Since when have you had a sibling?” Harry asked both Sirius and Remus shared a look over their heads.

“Always, he turned eleven, so will be joining Hogwart’s this upcoming year.”

“You never mentioned a brother to Ron or me in the four years we’ve known you,” Harry responded.

“I’m sure I’ve mentioned him once or twice,” Hermione argued, but her head felt fuzzy when she tried to remember when.

“Charmed?” Sirius mouthed.

“Your family will be perfectly safe; we’ll check on them soon,” Remus replied, then a thought occurred to Harry.

“Oh shit!” Harry exclaimed. They all looked at him, “Malfoy!”

“MUDBLOODS! FILTHY, TRAITOUROUS MUCK IN MY HOME! KREACHER-“ a loud voice interrupted any of them before they could say anything.

“Whose that?” Harry asked, confused.

“Mother!” Sirius answered drolly. Harry could not let this go, so he followed the shouting into the hallway where he stood in front of the portrait. The old woman was drooling; her eyes were rolling, the yellowing skin of her face stretched taut as she screamed, and all along the hall behind them.

“Lady Black,” Harry spoke calmly. Suddenly the woman stopped screaming and looked at Harry through rheumy eyes.

“Little Regulus,”

“No, Ma’am, my name is Harry Anteres Black. I am the son of Sirius,” Harry returned politely.

“You are the son of a blood traitor,” She looked ready to go again.

“No, madam, I am the Heir to the House of Black, Son of the Noble Black Family. Sirius and I are actively restoring The Black Family to its glory.” Harry spoke forcefully. Walburga blinked, then blinked again. “You are disgracing the House of Black with your antics; yes, we had many undesirables here, but you are ruining our reputation with your screaming and wailing.”

“I am the Lady of Black; you will respect me, you fil-“

“Finish that sentence, and I’ll chop you up for firewood,” Harry replied menacingly.

“I can’t be moved,” the woman spat back viciously.

“She’s correct; there’s a permanent sticking charm,” Sirius spoke up.

“I’ll destroy the wall you’re on,” Harry replied vehemently. “Sirius is the Master of the House and Head of House Black. You will respect him!”

“I am sorry, grandson,” She spoke quietly, wiping her chin and sitting straighter. Harry hid his surprise at her backing down. Sirius looked astonished at his straight-backed son.

“Good, we will want to use Grimmauld as a meeting place. This house is an absolute disgrace. You have let it go to ruin; I would think Great-grandfather Arcturus is rolling in his grave.”

“Kreacher!” Walburga suddenly shouted, making them all jump. A _POP_ later and a small house-elf stood before them. Sirius had mentioned the creature before, but this was Harry’s first time seeing him. Kreacher had a bulbous, snout-like nose, bloodshot eyes and many folds of skin. White hair grew out of his Bat-like ear.

“Yes, Mistress,” he spoke humbly.

“This house is a disgrace to the House of Black; she shall clean it top to bottom. You shall serve the Master of the House and his Heir as befitting a servant of the Black’s,” the little elf nodded and eagerly turned back to Sirius.

“Master Black will want to be rid of the Darkness Master Regulus stole from the Dark Lord then.”


	9. Nine: Darkness Within

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Thank you for the comments, kudos and subscriptions. I really appreciate the comments I get, questions on Hermione's brother should be answered in the next few chapters and Ron does get his comeuppance eventually. 
> 
> This chapter does contain extracts from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

“Master Black will want to be rid of the Darkness Master Regulus stole from the Dark Lord then.” With another _POP_ , Kreacher disappeared, reappearing a moment later, holding a golden Locket with an emerald S on the front. Dark whispers caressed Harry’s ears as he swayed on the spot.

“Take it to Hárasteorra Hall; we’ll be there shortly,” Sirius ordered, allowing the little House Elf to pop away.

“What was that?” Remus asked, his pupils almost blown. “The evil from it was calling to my Wolf.”

“I have an idea,” Sirius replied grimly, then turned to Tonks and her father, “Get your mother and meet us at the Hall.”

“No problem,” Tonks and her father disappeared, then Sirius led the other three back to the Floo room. Sirius had gone ahead to add her to the Wardbook, followed quickly by Harry.

“Hárasteorra Hall,” Hermione called out following Harry’s example, but unlike Harry, she stepped out into the parlour with ease brushing the dirt off herself.

“Hermione, I just have to warn you-“ Harry began but never finished as a voice that haunted her nightmares cut across him.

“Black, I hope that’s you, you’ve been gone for-ever,” Draco Malfoy sauntered into the parlour, stopping when he realised Harry’s friend was also there. “Granger.”

“I don’t want to be impolite, but what’s Malfoy doing in your home?”

“Draco is family, but more than that, his family asked for sanctuary here,” Harry explained quickly.

“Lucius Malfoy isn’t here, is he?” she asked. She had only met him once but knew how cruel he had been to Dobby the house-elf. Hermione also knew he was a Death Eater.

“No, my mother and I decided not to grovel at the feet of a monster, Granger,” Draco replied acerbically.

“Draco, do play nice,” Harry drawled in an almost perfect impression of Narcissa.

“I do hope that’s not an impression of me,” Narciss walked into the room, looking stately and beautiful.

“No, Cissy, I was practising for when we returned to Hogwart’s,” Harry lied, giving the women his best puppy dog eyes. Cissy? Hermione wondered.

“Oh, I can’t be mad at you,” the woman broke out into a smile. Hermione thought she looked so different.

“Hey, I’m your son; you shouldn’t get mad at me,” Draco pouted, so different from the boy she had known for the last four years.

“Hey is for horses,” Hermione and Narcissa spoke at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed.

“Not another person to bond with,” Draco complained, getting a sympathetic look from Harry.

“I think your mother is going to love Hermione,” Harry commented, receiving a big smile from the teen. 

“Ah, so you are the famous Miss Granger I hear so much about.”

“I hope most of it is good,” Hermione quipped.

“Depends on who you ask; Draco is constantly complaining about how smart you are and how you’re the best in class,” Narcissa looked at her son, who seemed to want to shrink. “Harry, on the other hand, is always talking about you; I don’t think he can say a sentence without your name cropping up.”

“Do you really, Harry?” Harry wondered if this was what an embarrassing mother was like. His face was as red as Draco’s, and he wanted to shrink into the ground.

“However, I didn’t come here to embarrass you, though that is a bonus,” the woman was enjoying this as a sudden whoosh heralded the entrance of Remus.

“I seem to have missed something,” Remus looked between Harry and Draco, who both had red faces, then the massive grins on Hermione and Narcissa’s face.

“You look pale, Remus. Are you alright?” Narcissa asked, suddenly concerned, as she noted how pale the man appeared to be.

“Ah, good, here you are,” Sirius entered the room. “Narcissa, I need you to take a look at something,”

The fireplace whooshed to life as Andromeda stepped through, followed quickly by her Husband and Daughter.

“Tonk’s said you wanted to see us,” Andromeda directed her comments to Sirius.

“We found something,” Remus told her as Sirius led them into the drawing-room. Standing in the room was Kreacher holding the locket.

“That’s your mothers’ elf, right?” Andromeda said, then noticed the locket, “I’m sure I’ve seen it before.” 

“It’s Master Regulus’s,” Kreacher grumbled.

“You called the locket ‘Master Regulus’s,’” Sirius asked. “Why? Where did it come from? What did Regulus have to do with it? Kreacher, tell me everything you know about that locket and everything Regulus had to do with it!”

“Master Sirius ran away,” the elf glared at his now-master, “good riddance, for he was a bad boy and broke my Mistress’s heart with his lawless ways. But Master Regulus had proper order; he knew what was due to the name of Black and the dignity of his pure-blood. For years he talked of the Dark Lord, who would bring the wizards out of hiding to rule the Muggles and the Muggle-borns ... and when he was sixteen years old, Master Regulus joined the Dark Lord. So proud, so proud, so happy to serve ... And one day, a year after he joined, Master Regulus came down to the kitchen to see Kreacher. Master Regulus always liked Kreacher. And Master Regulus said ... he said ...” The old elf rocked faster than ever. “... he said that the Dark Lord required an elf.”

“Voldemort needed an elf?” Harry repeated, looking around at Draco and Hermione, who looked just as puzzled as he did.

“Oh yes,” moaned Kreacher. “And Master Regulus had volunteered Kreacher. It was an honour, said Master Regulus, an honour for him and for Kreacher, who must be sure to do whatever the Dark Lord ordered him to do ... and then to c-come home.” Kreacher rocked still faster, his breath coming in sobs.

“What happened next?” Narcissa asked soothingly.

“So Kreacher went to the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord did not tell Kreacher what they were to do but took Kreacher to a cave beside the sea. And beyond the cave was a cavern, and in the cavern was a great black lake ... There was a boat... There was a b-basin full of potion on the island. The D-Dark Lord made Kreacher drink it ...” The elf quaked from head to foot. “Kreacher drank, and as he drank he saw terrible things ... Kreacher’s insides burned ... Kreacher cried for Master Regulus to save him, he called for his Mistress Black, but the Dark Lord only laughed ... He made Kreacher drink all the potion ... He dropped a locket into the empty basin ... He filled it with more potion.

And then the Dark Lord sailed away, leaving Kreacher on the island ... “ Harry could see it happening. He watched Voldemort’s white, snakelike face vanishing into darkness, those red eyes fixed pitilessly on the thrashing elf whose death would occur within minutes, whenever he succumbed to the desperate thirst that the burning poison caused its victim ... But here, Harry’s imagination could go no further, for he could not see how Kreacher had escaped. “Kreacher needed water, he crawled to the island’s edge, and he drank from the black lake ... and hands, dead hands, came out of the water and dragged Kreacher under the surface ... “

“How did you get away?” Harry asked, and he was not surprised to hear himself whispering. Kreacher raised his ugly head and looked at Harry with his great, bloodshot eyes.

“Master Regulus told Kreacher to come back,” he said.

“I know –but how did you escape the Inferi?” Kreacher did not seem to understand.

“Master Regulus told Kreacher to come back,” he repeated.

“I know, but –“

“Well, it’s obvious, isn’t it, Harry?” Hermione spoke up. “He Disapparated!”

“Could he have apparated out? Voldemort seemed to protect whatever this is,” Andromeda wondered. Narcissa was staring at the locket in Kreachers’ hands. No one noticed but Draco.

“Elf magic isn’t like wizard’s magic, is it?” Draco suggested, “They can Apparate and Disapparate in and out of Hogwarts when we can’t.”

There was a silence as everyone digested this. How could Voldemort have made such a mistake? But even as he thought this, Hermione spoke, and her voice was icy. “Of course, Voldemort would have considered the ways of house-elves far beneath his notice ... It would never have occurred to him that they might have magic that he didn’t.”

“The house-elf’s highest law is his Master’s bidding,” intoned Kreacher. “Kreacher was told to come home, so Kreacher came home ... “

“Well, then, you did what you were told, didn’t you?” said Hermione kindly. “You didn’t disobey orders at all!”

Kreacher shook his head, rocking as fast as ever.

“So what happened when you got back?” Sirius asked next. “What did Regulus say when you told him what happened?”

“Master Regulus was very worried, anxious,” croaked Kreacher. “Master Regulus told Kreacher to stay hidden and not to leave the house. And then ... it was a little while later ... Master Regulus came to find Kreacher in his cupboard one night. Master Regulus was strange, not as he usually was, disturbed in his mind, Kreacher could tell ... and he asked Kreacher to take him to the cave, the cave where Kreacher had gone with the Dark Lord ... “

And so they had set off. Harry could visualise them quite clearly, the frightened old elf and the thin, dark Seeker who had so resembled Sirius and now himself... Kreacher knew how to open the concealed entrance to the underground cavern, knew how to raise the tiny boat: this time it was his beloved Regulus who sailed with him to the island with its basin of poison ...

“And he made you drink the poison?” said Hermione, disgusted. But Kreacher shook his head and wept. Hermione’s hands leapt to her mouth: She seemed to have understood something.

“M-Master Regulus took from his pocket a locket like the one the Dark Lord had,” said Kreacher, tears pouring down either side of his snoutlike nose. “And he told Kreacher to take it and, when the basin was empty, to switch the lockets ...” Kreacher’s sobs came in great rasps now; Harry had to concentrate hard to understand him. “And he ordered –Kreacher to leave –without him. And he told Kreacher –to go home –and never to tell my Mistress –what he had done –but to destroy – the first locket. And he drank –all the potion –and Kreacher swapped the lockets –and watched ... as Master Regulus ... was dragged beneath the water ... and ... “

“Oh, Kreacher!” wailed Hermione, who was crying. She dropped to her knees beside the elf and tried to hug him. Kreacher moved away from the girl with fear in his eyes. Sirius seemed to be swaying on his feet as he discovered what had happened to his brother. Both Andromeda and Narcissa seemed appalled. 

“So you brought the locket home,” Sirius said relentlessly, for he was determined to know the whole story of his brother now. “And you tried to destroy it?”

“Nothing Kreacher did made any mark upon it,” moaned the elf. “Kreacher tried everything, everything he knew, but nothing, nothing would work ... So many powerful spells upon the casing, Kreacher was sure the way to destroy it was to get inside it, but it would not open ... Kreacher punished himself, he tried again, he punished himself, he tried again. Kreacher failed to obey orders; Kreacher could not destroy the locket! And his Mistress was mad with grief because Master Regulus had disappeared and Kreacher could not tell her what had happened, no, because Master Regulus had f-f-forbidden him to tell any of the f-f-family what happened in the c-cave ...” Kreacher began to sob so hard that there no more coherent words.

“Put the locket on the table and return to Grimmauld Place,” Sirius ordered. The house-elf did not even bow as he popped out of the room.

“Wow, that was some tale,” Harry was the first to speak.

“There are only two ways to destroy a Horcrux,” Narcissa spoke, stunning the room into silence. Remus looked at the woman aghast while Sirius did not appear too surprised.

“What’s a Horcrux?” typically, it was Hermione who asked the question.

“A Horcrux is one of the worse things wizard-kind created. It is a container to hold a soul, like this.” Remus was shocked when Sirius spoke up, picking up a cup. “It’s some of the foulest magic in existence.”

“The first known Horcrux was created by Herpo the Foul, and it involves premeditated murder with a very complicated ritual,” Narcissa continued. “They can only be destroyed by Fiendfyre or Basilisk poison.”

“That’s how Voldemort was able to survive for fourteen years,” Remus theorised.

“So we destroy the locket, then we can destroy _him_ ,” Harry suggested.

“Riddle’s diary!” Hermione blurted out.

“Excuse me,” Narcissa looked at the girl strangely.

“In our second year, Ginny Weasley was possessed by a magic diary, you remember Harry, you told us it was draining Ginny of Magic, and the ‘soul’ was becoming more alive,” Hermione told the group. “ Harry only destroyed it by stabbing the diary with the Blade of Gryffindor.”

“So Voldemort made at least two Horcrux’s?” Narcissa said thoughtfully.

“No wonder he is insane,” Sirius murmured. Andromeda approached the table and began using various diagnosis spells on it.

“What do you mean?” Draco asked.

“The more times your soul is ‘broken’, the more your sanity will be lost,” his mother answered. “So we assume there is more than one out there.”

“We know of two, but I would assume he has five or seven,” Remus mused.

“Why do you think that?” Sirius looked at his oldest friend.

“Both are magic numbers; the Dark Lord seems to be obsessed with magic numbers from what I’ve heard,” Remus concluded.

“That’s true,” Narcissa added as Andromeda took a sharp intake of breath.

“What is it?” Sirius asked.

“The ‘evil’ within has the same signature as the one in Harry’s head,” everyone turned to look at Harry.

“What do you mean? I’ve got a piece of Voldemort’s soul in my head,” Harry stared at the adults.

“You remember those tests I took? We found a bit of dark magic centred around your scar?” Andromeda asked, getting a nod from Harry. “It seems _He_ made a living Horcrux.”

“No one has ever done that, not in recorded history,” Remus spoke up, looking sick.

“Does that mean I have to die?”

“NO!” Sirius made everyone jump. “We’ll find a way to get it out of you, I promise you.”

“I, erm, need to be alone,” Harry mumbled and left the room.

“Shouldn’t we go after him?” Hermione asked, looking at the back of her best friend.

“Just give him time to process things,” Remus told her kindly.

“We need to keep it safe until we work out how to destroy it,” Andromeda suggested.

“I’ll keep in the vaults below the house,” Sirius returned, then the adults began to discuss the Horcrux. Hermione shared a look with Draco leaving the room behind.

She still remembered the look on Harry’s face a few day’s later. How pale he was. The bushy-haired girl had not seen her best friend in those days. Harry had locked himself in his room. Hermione looked around her room again; it was, as Lupin suggested, a deep purple colour. Now that she had been at Hárasteorra Hall for a couple of days, she was coming to like the purple walls. In the centre of the room was a large four-poster bed with purple curtains along the top. There were cupboards for the clothing that had been retrieved from Grimmauld place. The difference between Grimmauld and Hárasteorra was like night and day. Hárasteorra Hall was absolutely beautiful; a couple of times, she had imagined herself as a Princess.

“Hermione, are you alright?” Harry’s voice drew the young woman out of her thoughts. She looked up at him to see Harry was wearing some shorts and a tee-shirt.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” she told him, standing up to smother her summer dress out. Harry had to turn away quickly as it became a little uncomfortable in his shorts. Harry knew his best friend was female, but her chest was a lot more noticeable in the summer dress. Although he rather liked the way Hermione looked, he didn’t know how his friends could drool over some of the big-breasted girls like Susan Bones or Lavender Brown.

“I’d rather not talk about that. Can we discuss something else?” Harry asked, looking out the window. “ I came to ask if you wanted to go for a walk before the family meeting?”

“Actually, that would be lovely. Am I being allowed into the meeting?” She asked as they walked down the hallway, passing many of Harry’s ancestors. Hermione had been incredibly shocked when she discovered that not only was Harry a Black, but the son of Sirius. Then add to that the Horcrux revelation, and she had had a lot to think about the last few days. But Harry seemed intent on ignoring the problem, so she would wait for Harry to come to her.

“Sirius decided it would be nice for you to see a family meeting, unlike the one you saw the other day, plus you’re practically family now,” Harry gave her a grin that made her body shiver. Harry wasn’t sure what Sirius was trying to achieve, but he knew the old marauder was up to no good.

“Sounds fantastic. I would love to look around the library more. There are so many fascinating books there,” she babbled, then was off chattering about the different sort of books the young witch had found in the last three days. If Harry wasn’t taking her somewhere or showing her around, she was found in the library next to Remus, reading book after book. Harry led her outside into the beautiful August sunshine. They passed over the bridge and past the greenhouses.

“What are you thinking about?” Hermione stopped her babble, looking at him. He saw a loose hair and tucked it behind the girl’s ear, receiving a beaming smile.

Inside the manor Remus, Sirius and Narcissa watched from the Study window, all three with smiles on their faces.

“When do you think they will realise they like each other?” Narcissa asked.

“I give it six months; by Christmas, they will be a couple,” Sirius suggested.

“They look like you and Holly were,” Remus bought up. The other man frowned, moving away from the window abruptly to take a seat behind his desk.

“Was that a lie?” Sirius asked, remembering Holly Du Vere, she had been in their year in school, but he had met her while training to be an Auror. She was training to be a Healer at St Mungo’s, but their paths had crossed frequently.

“I don’t think so, but we’ll soon find out,” Remus replied, settling in a chair opposite his friend, “I was really shocked at Harry for giving Hermione Sanctuary.”

“To be honest, I think she’ll need it. The Death eaters are getting bolder; someone seems to be giving them addresses of the mundane-born’s homes,” Black looked over the two of them, “I think, with the coming legislation, she may need more.”

“What do you mean? There’s not much more than Sanctuary,” Remus frowned.

“Oh no, that might push them apart,” Narcissa cottoned on to what her cousin was suggesting. Moments later, Remus also realised what the other man was suggesting.

“Their relationship is barely fledgeling; a betrothal contract might kill that off,” Remus argued.

“But it would tie her to the family in ways Sanctuary cannot,” Sirius returned.

“Hermione is a strong young woman; she may well believe betrothal contracts are too arcane. Harry struggled with it, and he doesn’t know much more about mundanes than pure-blood wizards,” Narcissa added to the argument.

“I know what you’re saying, but that boy loves her,” Sirius flung his arm out where Harry was now lightly holding Hermione’s hand. “I don’t think he realises it yet, but those two are made for each other.”

“I can see that, but they may rebel against the betrothal,” Narcissa countered.

“Not if we pitch it to them the right way.”

“What’s the right way?” Narcissa looked at the man sceptically.

“Harry has that ‘Saving people thing’ if we tell them it’s to protect Hermione, I’m sure Harry would go for it in an instant. However, I do think we should try to help them get together,” Sirius outlined his plan.

“No, we’re not going to help them ‘get together’. However, the other part of your plan warrants talking about,” he was firmly told by the witch.

“Weasley!” a voice spoke up near the door. Arthur looked up from his desk to find Auror Proudfoot stood in the doorway of the small cupboard.

“Caleb, what a pleasure to see you. What can I do for you today?” the red-head was sure he’d be visiting a house about a charmed muggle artefact soon.

“The boss wants to see you in her office, pronto,” the Auror demanded.

“No problem,” he shared a confused look with his assistant, Perkins, then managed to pull himself out of his tiny office. Following the corridor, he entered the Auror bullpen, which was a hive of activity. He got a few hellos from people he knew, but he noticed how busy they were. There was a couple of boards for current cases, but he barely got to see them as the press of bodies hid them away. He pushed through another set of double doors into the reception of the Office of the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement **.** Arthur moved up to the desk, noticing a man in white healer robes.

“Hello, Rita, how’s your husband?” the receptionist gave him a genuine smile.

“Wonderful, Arthur, we must have you and Molly around for dinner soon,” the woman gushed, “Madam Bones is just finishing a meeting but will be with you soon,”

“Thank you,” Arthur told her, sincerely, taking a seat close to the office door.

“-This is the sixth attack on Muggle-borns in the last month; we’re lucky we had stationed an Auror there to keep an eye out,” Madam Bones was saying to an unknown person.

“Did we at least capture the werewolf for interrogation?” a deep voice asked. Arthur recognised the voice as that of Rufus Scrimgeour, Head of the Auror office.

“No, unfortunately, but the Auror did wound that animal. Luckily none of the Creevey’s was injured; they are currently in a safe house,” Bones responded _. Creevey? Now how do I know that name_ , Arthur wondered.

“Madam Bones, Arthur Weasley and Derek Laidlaw are here to see you,” Rita’s voice crackled through a speaker.

“Right, Rufus, we’ll pick this up at another time, but I want constant updates on the cases,” she ordered.

“Of Course, Madam,” Rufus growled, leaving the office. He had the look of an old Lion; there were streaks of grey in his mane of tawny hair and his bushy eyebrows. The old Auror had keen yellowish eyes behind a pair of wire-rimmed spectacles. He took a quick look at Arthur before loping out into the bullpen.

“Arthur, come in,” Madam Bones snapped. Arthur entered the office, closing the door behind him; he looked at the woman behind the desk. Her grey hair was close-cropped, which showed off her square jawline. She had a monocle in her eye, which he took note of the magical sheen around it.

“Hello, Madam Bones, I was told you wanted to speak to me,” Arthur looked at his boss nervously. He had got into trouble recently, especially with the Ford Anglia.

“There are many things I would like to discuss with you, Arthur, but the first and foremost is; are you a part of the Order of Phoenix?”

“Excuse me?” of all the things Bones could have come out with, Arthur was not expecting this. He knew Fudge was trying to route out Dumbledore supporters; perhaps he would declare the organisation Terrorists.

“I’m not Fudge; this isn’t to get you fired. However, I’ve just discovered I have two Order agent’s in my own Aurors, and I don’t want another in my office. I will not have people with split loyalty in this office. I don’t believe Dumbledore is trying for the Minister’s job, but he is dangerous, so I’ll ask again; are you in the Order of Phoenix?”

“Yes,” Arthur admitted, he knew if he lied, his job at the Ministry would be over.

“Good, I’m glad you are being honest with me. You have a couple of choices ahead of you; you can remain a part of Dumbledore’s Order and be relieved of your job. Or you leave the Order of Phoenix. I have been speaking to Rufus about a new department; you are one of the people I’m considering heading up the department.” Arthur was torn; he knew Molly was loyal to the old Headmaster, but he had been seeing things a lot clearer recently, and several things did not make sense. He vaguely recalled speaking to Dumbledore after his sons reported bars and a cat flap in Harry’s room.

“I have known Professor Dumbledore a long time, and I’m sorry, but I don’t toe the official ministry line that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is dead,” Arthur spoke almost apologetically.

“What I’m about to say doesn’t leave this office,” she looked at him sternly, then continued when he nodded, “I believe Lord Rendlesham that _He_ is back, I’ve been trying to subtle get our budget increased, but Malfoy and his cronies have deep coffers. I’m hoping to get the Duke of Anglia onside to overturn some of the spending budgets.”

“I think he would agree to that,” Arthur smiled, “It’s one of the reasons I joined Professor Dumbledore; there is a great evil out there that must be defeated,”

“If I get the budget to go-ahead, then I’ll put you in as the Head of the new department,” Amelia told him.

“I will speak to Professor Dumbledore; you have my loyalty, Madam Bones,”

“Good, the other subject I’d like to discuss with you is about your daughter. I had a report recently that she was involved in possession and an incident with a Basilisk,” Bones was so surprised her monocle fell out, “Why was I not informed of this straight away when it happened?”

“I don’t know, Amelia, did Professor Dumbledore not contact you after the first Petrification?” Arthur returned, finally using Bones first name. Though she was his boss, they had still known each other for a long time.

“No, I’ve been given some information about the happenings in Hogwart’s that I was not aware of; it seems the Tri-wizard tournament is the latest in a long list of incidents to befoul Hogwart’s,” Bones replied, then pressed a button on her desk. “Rita, can you send in Derek Laidlaw?”

“Yes, Madam Bones,” was the reply. Minutes later, there was a soft knock on the door before the other man entered, taking a seat next to Arthur.

“Thank you for speaking with me,” the man offered.

“Arthur Weasley, I would like you to meet Derek Laidlaw; he is a Private Mind-Healer at St Mungos Hospital,” Bones introduced the pair, making Arthur even more confused. “In the last couple of days, I have been contacted by Gringotts. Mr Laidlaw has been paid to become your daughter’s personal Mind-Healer.”

“After the experiences she had, Miss Weasley should have seen a Mind Healer after the possession,” Laidlaw spoke; he was soft-spoken but oddly reassuring.

“Paid for? Molly refused to let her daughter near a Mind-Healer,” Arthur explained. Madam Bones fitted another piece into the puzzle as Arthur said ‘her’ not ‘our’ daughter.

“Yes, I have been fully paid; however, your daughter is such an interesting case, it will make for an interesting case study. If you are willing, I would like to meet your daughter today, don’t worry about Mrs Weasley; I can be quite persuasive,” Laidlaw chuckled.

“Arthur, you are released for the rest of the day; why don’t you take Mr Laidlaw home to meet your wife and child. Just remember what I said to you, Mr Weasley,” Bones told the man who realised they had been dismissed.


	10. Ten: Wizengamot Acts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you for all the support you've given. We've reached chapter ten and soon the gang will be returning to Hogwart's, but first a little political intrigue. 
> 
> I have a full character list as an extra chapter, will be updated as new characters come into it.

“Good Morning Lords and Ladies, Heads of Departments and the public, welcome to the last Wizengamot session of the summer season. After this, we shall have a three-week recess before the winter season begins,” Tiberius Ogden, Chief Warlock, laid out for the packed chambers. Courtroom ten, usually known as the Wizengamot chambers, was full. However, Ogden was at the centre with Fudge to his left and Madam Bones as Head of the DMLE on his right. The room had been reconfigured, so they sat in the centre of the room with the scribe next to them, making notes. On the one side was the full Wizengamot, the _four_ occupied chairs of the Ancient and Noble Houses with their Heirs sat at their feet.

Behind them were the remaining Ancient houses where Tiberius noticed the Weasley seat was once more taken but with a much younger man than Arthur Weasley. Behind them were the Noble families. The Order of Merlin members was next (with former Chief Warlock Dumbledore in his seat), then finally the heads of each major department. The rest of the room was made up of the public, with one section dedicated to the Press.

“I will remind you all this is a Wizengamot session. Only those of the Wizengamot or experts invited by Wizengamot members may speak. If the public galleries cannot control themselves, I will make this a closed session,” Ogden warned them sternly, “Now, Scribe, do you have any public announcements?”

“Yes, Sir,” Tiberius realised it was another Weasley, “After fourteen years, the House of Black rejoins this august body with the 15th Duke of Anglia, His Grace Sirius Black.”

“Welcome, Sir,” Ogden tipped his hat to the man in welcome.

“His Grace, The Duke of Anglia, would like to announce his heir and firstborn Lord Harry Anteres Black, 10th Marquess of Rendlesham,” Weasley continued on, this getting a cheer from some in the public gallery. Ogden bought his gavel down. “Next, the Ministry of Magic would like to introduce Educational Decree twenty-two: to ensure that, in the event of the current Headmaster being unable to provide a candidate for a teaching post, the Ministry should select an appropriate person. Senior Undersecretary Delores Umbridge will take the Defence Against the Arts position in the coming academic year.”

“Minister,” Ogden invited the man to speak.

“Unfortunately, Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has had several years of inefficient teachers in regards to Defence Against the Dark Arts, it is our hope the Ministry can step in and provide a stable learning environment that will lead Hogwarts to become the best school in Europe with regards to Defence Against the Dark Arts,” Minister Fudge finished his speech. Still, no one missed the snort in the silence that followed. Harry got a cuff around the head for it.

“Thank you, Minister, for a most illuminating speech,” Ogden spoke almost sarcastically as he met the eye of Griselda Marchbanks, the Head of the Department of Education and Family Services, “Now before we begin our scheduled topics does anybody wish to declare anything?”

“Chief Warlock, I would like to declare the Potter Chair and vote Extant until such time an investigation can be completed as to where the Potter House should be merged,” Sirius stood up to address the man.

“I object!” Viscountess Fawley, Head of a neutral House, spoke up.

“Your Grace, can you provide more information?” Tiberius suggested. He hoped to get this finished quickly because he knew the first topic scheduled for today would be a long one.

“Baron James Potter died without a living heir, everyone thought my son was the last heir of Potter, but as you can now see, that is no longer true,” Sirius explained, touching Harry’s head. “Therefore, no one should be voting in the Potter seat until it’s decided which House Potter should be merged with,”

“Granted, I shall send a representative to Gringotts and the Department of Heritage to find out what we can about the House of Potter. Hopefully, we should have a report prepared by the Winter Session,” the Chief Warlock nodded then looked to Dedalus Diggle, “Master Diggle, we thank and excuse you as the Potter Proxy, you may leave.”

The small man nodded eagerly, happily hopping off the chair; he exited the chambers as everyone looked on. Inside, Dumbledore was seething; how dare that upstart lose him a vote on the Wizengamot. Admittedly it was only one vote, but sometimes one vote changed the course of history.

“Right, now our first scheduled topic of the day is the Muggle-born Act of 1995, briefly introduced in the last Wizengamot session. Today we shall be reviewing it, making any amendments then voting on it. If it voted through the Act shall be ratified and come into law on September first 1995,” Tiberius announced. “As Mister Corban Yaxley is the master behind the law, he will talk us through it.”

“Thank you, it is my pleasure to speak in front of such an august body,” Harry stiffened as he looked at the blond; he recognised the voice from the Graveyard just a few months ago. He was also the proxy for the LeStranges on the Wizengamot. “Wizards are superior to muggles in all ways. Though we may be smaller in number, our way of life is far superior to those of Muggles. How then does Muggle-born’s come by their magic if no proven Wizarding ancestry exists? Thus we must conclude the Muggle-born has obtained their magic by theft or force.

The Muggle-born Act of 1995 will set up a Muggle-born Registration Commission to register all the Muggle-born’s in our society; we hope to protect all those of long Wizarding lines and their magic. We hope to bring into effect a new set of laws regarding Muggle-borns; they shall not be permitted to gather in magical spaces such as Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley; Muggle-born’s wands will have to be doubly registered with the committee. Jobs must first and foremost go to the purer lines and the half-bloods; Labourer and menial jobs shall now be attended by Muggle-borns if they wish to remain in our society.

Any minor under the age of sixteen shall be apprenticed to a pure-blood family to learn about Magical society and their place in society. There shall be fines or imprisonment in Azkaban for breaking these rules,” Yaxley continued, “and finally, those deemed to be helping Muggle-born through financial assistance, marriage or charity will also face fines or imprisonment.”

Harry sat back absolutely shocked; he remembered reading about American history and something called Black Codes, which was basically slavery but by another name. This new law was the complete and absolute slavery of muggle-borns. As his thoughts come back to the present, he began to hear the counter-arguments for the proposed Act. Both sides of the Act wheeled out ‘experts’ and pleaded their case. Several hours later, the Chief Warlock finally banged his gavel down.

“We shall a 90-minute recess, now that we have heard each side we will listen to the proposed Amendments, then vote whether the Act should go through this Wizengamot and be ratified,” He banged down again, and the session ended. Before Harry could speak, Sirius had grabbed his robes.

“Don’t say a word until I say,” Sirius hissed, then become the epitome of a pure-blood. Smiling and nodding, Sirius led his son through the crowds then into a private corridor that had an Auror stationed in front of it. They passed a couple of doors until they reached one, which had the Black family crest on it. Sirius pushed the door open and pulled Harry in. Remus and Narcissa were already in the room. Before Harry could say anything, there was a knock on the door. Remus allowed entrance to Augusta Longbottom and Amelia Bones though Harry noticed an exchange of smiles between Sirius and the stern Bones. He raised an eyebrow at his father but got a death glare instead. He would be having fun with that later, he thought, as Sirius held a hand up.

“ _Hr_ _æ_ _fen_ ,” He spoke, and a maroon fire raced around the room walls and the door. “We can now speak freely without being overheard,”

“What the hell was that?” Remus exploded; Harry had never seen him so angry, “That is slavery by any other name.”

“I agree-“ Sirius started but was interrupted by a knock on the door. He quickly cut the spell, opening the door so the person outside could not see in.

“Your Grace, I have someone that would like a meeting with you,” The Auror said, then revealed Minerva McGonagall.

“Come in,” he invited the Scottish women in, then as the Auror turned his back, he whispered, “Obliviate.”

“What was that?” Harry asked as he closed the door and once again warded it.

“We don’t want anyone knowing the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwart’s is in a meeting with Black, Longbottom and Bones,” Sirius explained.

“You would be correct,” McGonagall stated, for once agreeing with the action.

“So, what are you doing here?” Harry asked, a little too cheekily. The Gryffindor Head gave him a slight glare.

“This cannot happen! If this Act goes through unhindered, we are condemning any young Muggle-born to slavery and a life of destitution,”

“I agree with you. Unfortunately, we cannot do anything for past years except get them a family that will treat them right. But the newest batch of Muggle-born coming this year, we may have a chance of helping or sending them to allies across the pond,” Black explained.

“You’ve thought about this,” Narcissa spoke up.

“I was given the literature a week ago, I’ve been in contact with several people in America, but I wasn’t sure on the numbers we were looking at here,” Black looked to his old teacher.

“We have forty-three incoming students; of them, there are only eight from Muggle-born families, including one who lived close to you, Harry,” McGonagall looked at the boy.

“Mark Evans,” Harry grinned real wide when he realised the small boy he used to protect was a wizard.

“Yes, he was such a polite boy when I visited him last week,” the Scottish woman had thoroughly enjoyed that visit, “I think we could persuade three of the others to leave the country; they did not have many ties. A fourth wants to come to Hogwart’s at all costs; she was our scholarship student, the fifth and sixth were orphans. However, the last one is going to be the biggest problem, Cepheus Granger.” Professor McGonagall took in the exchange of looks between Narcissa, Remus and Sirius. “What?”

“Do you not think Cepheus is a bit of an odd name for a Muggle-born?” Sirius suggested lightly. He had finally taken the potion that retrieved his memories a few days before and had remembered a lot more than any of them had expected.

“I grant you it’s an odd name, but then so is Hermione; I expected her parents to name their second child something strange,” she admitted.

“We think Cepheus might be Sirius second-born child,” Remus finally told the assembled group, which got different reactions.

“You have another child?” this came from Amelia Bones.

“I’m not sure entirely, but a second trust vault was started eleven years ago, and I had relations with Holly Du Vere while in Azkaban,” Sirius started, “Hermione also gets fuzzy when she tries to recall telling Ron and Harry about her little brother,”

“That’s circumstantial at best,” Bones spoke like the law-enforcement officer she was.

“I know every child on the address list; it did not say, Cepheus Black,” Minerva was firm.

“Could it have been tampered with?” Bones asked.

“What about the Register?” Madam Longbottom spoke up.

“What’s the Register?” Harry asked, curious.

“On their birth, every magical child is registered in a special book in Hogwart’s, the address list usually comes from that, but it’s not infallible. However, the book has so many charms it cannot be corrupted, but it can only be opened every September first where it has a duplication charm so I may read out the new first-year student’s names.”

“So we won’t know until September First?” Remus asked.

“Not for definite, no,” Sirius answered for her.

“We won’t have to worry about the minors for six months if this goes through, anyway,” Madam Bones suggested.

“Why?” Augusta leant forward.

“Because the Muggle-Born Registration committee will have to be set up, there will be protocols to be put in place; I’m going to try push for independent representatives from the DMLE to visit any Houses that took on a minor child. I have already considered Arthur Weasley as the head of the new department,” Bones told them.

“That is clever, I’ll back that,” Sirius laughed at the audacity of the DMLE.

“Even with six months, the biggest problem is going to be Hermione Granger. She will still be considered a minor; her close friendship means she’s in real danger from the darker element of the Wizengamot,” McGonagall was reluctant to suggest it. Still, she was worried about her favourite student.

“Don’t worry, we already have a plan for that,” Sirius said with a big grin on his face; Harry did not like the look of that grin,

“Your Grace, Recess is over, and everyone is being called back to the Wizengamot.” Someone knocked on the door. None of the group had realised how long they had been talking. Amelia Bones, Minerva McGonagall, and Narcissa disillusioned themselves before slipping out the door. Regent Longbottom had no qualm about people seeing the new alliance between their families.

“We are now back in the last summer session of nineteen ninety-five. Before we recessed, we heard the proposed Muggle-born Act of 1995. Would anybody like to table any amendments to it?” Tiberius Ogden restarted the Wizengamot session.“The Duke of Anglia is recognised.”

“Thank you, Tiberius, under the Wizard Council, and it’s amendments, the Wizengamot are not permitted to put into a law that affects who the Noble Houses marry,” Sirius emanated power and authority, looking like the Duke he was. “The Wizengamot has already restricted the Houses by putting into effect the Anti-werewolf Legislation Act 1993.”

“Because they are dangerous beasts,” Madame Umbridge’s voice rang out.

“You are not a Wizengamot member; please do not speak, or I will have you removed,” Ogden snapped at the women.

“I propose the Muggle-born Act be amended to allow for the chance that they can be rehabilitated by the noble Lords and Ladies of this land, only Muggle-born’s shall be fined or imprisoned for breaking our esteemed laws,” Sirius played to the pure-blood crowd, who had settled back now wondering if this Duke was more like his recent relatives than they had initially thought.

“Honey, we’re home,” Harry’s voice rang out through the parlour. He led Sirius, Remus and Narcissa into the drawing-room where Draco and Hermione joined them.

“You’ve been gone all day; we expected you back hours ago,” Hermione commented, sipping from the tea, one of the house-elf’s had left. She frowned at the creature but decided now wasn’t the right moment to say anything.

“Well, what happened?” Draco prompted them.

“Harry was announced as my heir, and the Potter chair was placed under investigation.” Harry tried not to grin as Hermione looked between the three adults, knowing that she wanted to know about the Muggle-born Act.

“And what about the Muggle-born Act?” she finally couldn’t help herself. She had read the proposed Act and was absolutely disgusted by it. Sirius glared at his son, flicking him a Galleon in the process. Hermione looked between the two of them, confused.

“You bet on Granger?” Draco laughed out loud. Hermione harrumphed, folding her arms together. Harry thought she looked cute when she was angry.

“The Muggle-born Act of 1995 was ratified with twenty-seven voting against it, twenty-nine for it and four abstaining,” Remus shared, knowing the girl was getting frustrated.

“That is absolutely disgusting; it’s sla-“ Hermione was cut off in her tirade by Sirius.

“We were able to get some amendments in place that protects Mundane-borns,”

“You would be proud Draco; Dad was every bit the Slytherin he should be. He played them like fiddles,” Harry crowed; Sirius looked at the boy with pride.

“What amendment’s?” Hermione was not to be deterred or ignored.

“It’ll take some time to set up the Muggle-born registration committee, but a panel of six members set out what the committee will do; we have two of our own on that panel,” Remus explained.

“Minors from nine to seventeen who are Mundane-born will have a guardian that is pure-blood to teach them how our society works, now this will be regulated by a new department in the DMLE known as Independent Muggle-born Services. The new department will be headed by Arthur Weasley; they will be the first contact for Mundane-Borns, assign guardians after petitions from pure-bloods and check up on the guardians,” Narcissa continued, “that was an extremely hard-fought battle.”

“We almost lost that one, but the Houses definitely saw the need for the Service,” Remus agreed.

“The final amendment we got was for pure-bloods to be able to ‘help Muggleborn’s be rehabilitated’.” Sirius finished. Hermione’s face when bright red as she looked set to explode.

“That is absolutely ridiculous like Muggle-borns actually stole magic!” she shouted. She placed her tea on the table with a thunk then stormed out of the room.

“I think that’s the angriest I’ve ever seen her,” Harry commented. Sirius looked to Draco then sighed.

“Draco, do you think you can give us time to talk?” Sirius asked, oddly serious.

“Yes, I’ll be in my room,” Draco told them, leaving the drawing-room. Spellfire raced across the room, sealing them in until Harry found himself opposite three severe-looking adults.

“I’ve not done anything wrong, have I?” Harry joked, but it fell flat.

“Harry, how do you feel about Hermione?” Narcissa asked softly. This wasn’t what he was expecting.

“She’s my best friend, probably better than Ron if I was being completely honest,” Harry answered, blushing slightly. 

“I can see that.” Narcissa gave him a smile. “Do you have stronger feelings for Hermione, romantic feelings?”

“I, erm-“ Harry sputtered, not sure how to answer. Harry had only just reached that conclusion himself, that he _liked_ his best friend.

“We put that last amendment in to protect Hermione,” Sirius explained.

“How do you mean?”

“Not only have you got Death Eater’s on the Wizengamot, but there are several nobles that would love to have Hermione under their thumb. She’s almost as legendary in her own right, but if the _wrong_ person became her ‘guardian’, it could well be used against you,” Sirius told the teen frankly.

“So, what happens next?” 

“We want to organise a betrothal contract to her,” Remus continued.

“With who?”

“Remus, Narcissa and I believe this will help protect her, to save Hermione from becoming the wife of a Death Eater or a pawn in Dumbledore’s games,” Sirius laid it on thick.

“Who?” Harry all but growled

“Harry, we want Hermione to become betrothed to you,” Narcissa broke it to the boy.

“WHAT!”

“I know how you feel about her; we can all see that. I can even smell it,” Remus wrinkled his nose up, but tried to laugh as Harry went bright red, “but it will save Hermione from a fate none of us wants to happen; she joins the House of Black and has heavy protections.”

“Will Sanctuary not work?” Harry asked. He knew how he felt for Hermione though he wasn’t sure how she felt for him. He did not want to spoil their friendship.

“No, unfortunately, even becoming a Vassal is not strong enough to protect her if one of the older families push the law in their favour,” Sirius answered.

“I don’t know how she feels about me,” Harry finally uttered his biggest fear.

“She clearly likes you too,” Narcissa felt sympathetic towards the boy.

“How long have we got?” Harry asked.

“If we don’t write up the betrothal contract soon, I’d say we have six months until we are really worrying,” Sirius answered.

“Look, I know it’s to protect Hermione, but I don’t want to push her into this betrothal without knowing how she feels. Give me until Christmas to let us explore, then we’ll ask her about the betrothal.”

“OK, we’ll do it your way,” Sirius patted Harry’s knee and released the magic sealing the room.

Days had passed since Hermione had been told about the new Act going into effect. She had been so angry at the magical world. Why had no one told her about the nobility and the way the government worked when she arrived? Should there have been a class in Hogwarts on it? Since she had arrived at Hárasteorra Hall, Narcissa had been giving her lessons all about the Ancient families, along with some lessons on etiquette. She knew now why Draco had disliked Harry from the first day of Hogwarts. The light was just fading as dusk drew in the night when Hermione’s wondering bought her to the drawing-room where she found Harry and Sirius having a talk. She didn’t want to intrude as she watched the black-haired teen before her. She had been feeling a lot more than friendship for Harry recently, realising she might have a crush on her best friend.

“Before the fifth-year, I never thought I had a chance with your mother, even though I had liked her since our third-year. I dated Amelia Bones for the entire fourth-year,” Sirius chuckled; Hermione smiled at the pair of them.

“You mean Madam Bones, Director of the DMLE, Bones?” Harry looked astonished.

“Yep, we decided to move on that summer, then the next year I ended up with your mother, and you know that story,” Sirius confirmed, “I proposed to your mother on Valentines Day, 1979. Yeah, I know, pretty cheesy.”

“Damn right, it was cheesy,” Harry grinned, “How did James take it?”

“He liked Lily too, but he knew we were dating, so he stepped back respectfully, but because we were hiding our relationship, the pair of them had to be seen, the Brightest Witch of her age ‘dating’ a light-born pure-blood. Though that was at Dumbeldore’s insistence,” Sirius explained bitterly. “However, we thought he didn’t know about Lily and me, so they faked their wedding.”

“You mean they really did have a wedding?” Harry asked.

“Why? When she was so in love with you?” Hermione couldn’t contain herself, so she entered, taking a seat.

“The War was heating up; it was pure-bloods of the ‘light side’ against those of the ‘dark side’. I was a traitor to my family but seen with suspicion by the light families. I wanted to protect, Lily, as she was a Mundane-born,” Sirius told the pair, “so we conceived the idea to have Lils dating James for show.”

“But Dumbledore must have found out somehow,” Harry said bitterly.

“The wedding was the biggest thing in our world, but Lils was getting annoyed with it all by the autumn time, so the three of us went to New York for a Holiday.” Sirius looked rather red in the face as Harry looked confused.

“Harry was conceived there right,” Hermione’s voice was a bit more high pitched.

“Erm yeah, then we found out in November we were expecting. I was overjoyed. In December 1979, Lily, James, and I were called to Dumbledore, ostensibly meeting about Voldemort. However, somehow he had discovered our ruse and that Lily was pregnant. That’s when my old memories were wiped,” Sirius continued. “I had met Holly Du Vere when I entered the Auror training program. She was a Slytherin, in the same year as me, but we really hit it off as friends,” 

“She sounds really nice,” Harry commented.

“Your Mum and James loved her; though her family were pure-blood, they were neutral, staying out of the fight. Because I didn’t remember ever being with your Mum, I began to pursue Holly in 1980. During the summer, her family were killed by Death Eaters because they refused to choose a side,” Sirius wiped a tear from his eye. “I comforted her, and we become a couple not long after their deaths. Until that fateful night in 1981 where I ended up in Azkaban,”

“But she must have visited you in prison for you to have, erm, another child?” Harry was red-faced. Then it dawned on Hermione why, and she felt embarrassed.

“Despite going to Azkaban without a trial, the Warden knew I was old-blood, so put me in the Medium-security wing where there were fewer Dementors, he also allowed access to Holly who petitioned him, and we had several conjugal visits over the next few years.” Sirius was mortified he was telling his son this but felt he had to know. “August 1983 was the last visit, I know because I saw a Daily Prophet not long after. Then Dumbledore came to visit discovering I was only in the Medium-security wing.”

“I gather the Warden was fired,” Hermione made the connection.

“Yes, I was immediately transferred to High-security, and Dumbledore obliviated me again,” Sirius sighed. Hermione wondered how many times someone could be Obliviated? She knew the potion retrieved memories, but not all of them. Sirius still had some very large gaps that needed filling.

“So, how do you know you have a son?” Hermione asked.

“Well, when I got out of prison, I eventually found out Holly had died giving birth to a son, but at the time, I didn’t know I was the father. However, the timing makes sense,” He said, looking at Hermione, “Do you know anything about your brother?”

“What? Why?” Hermione was startled about the change in subject.

“After Harry explained that you were confused about why you hadn’t told the pair of them about your brother, I was able to get my lawyer to do a little digging.”

“I was told he was adopted the year I got my letter for Hogwarts, I had always had my suspicions because of the dark hair and grey eyes,” Hermione explained, “Cepheus was told at the beginning of summer, not long after he received his letter to Hogwarts.”

“We could find nothing about the boy; we know he was adopted by your parents in June 1984, but not from what agency or where the child comes from,” Sirius went over their discoveries.

“Would your son not have a magical birth certificate?” Hermione asked.

“If there is, we haven’t found it yet, we’re looking through the Ministry and have approached Gringott’s, but we’re waiting to hear anything, “Sirus replied, then went on to explain about the Register at Hogwarts.

“So you’re pinning your hope on the Register revealing the truth?” Hermione asked.

“Yes, until we get word back from Hogwarts,” Sirius looked thoughtful. “What would your parents be doing right now?”

“Probably having dinner. Why?”

“Well, maybe we could go have a chat with them,” Sirius suggested taking in the Mundane clothing they were wearing. Harry in jeans and the green jumper Narcissa and Draco had got him. Hermione was in jeans too, with a lovely white jumper that seemed to suit her.

“O-OK,” Hermione replied as Sirius transfigured his clothes into a smart suit, then tied his hair back. Harry rolled his eyes at Sirius as the man offered an arm each to the pair of them. He apparated the two teens from the house until they reached a leafy estate in London. Harry’s eyes widened as they took in the neighbourhood; these houses looked like mansions compared to Privet drive, probably worth more as well

“How come you never told me you were rich?” Harry asked. She looked a bit nervous, so Harry took her hand, smiling at his best friend. He loved how her hand felt in his, especially when she returned his smile, not taking her hand away. 

“You know how Ron moans about your wealth, my parents are dentists, which is quite well paid, but they bought this several years ago with some old inheritance money,” She answered him as she led the two Black to the gate of a detached house. She shivered and looked up at Sirius. “The house is Warded.”

“Yes, we had Gringotts come and Ward your house; we wanted your family to be safe,” Sirius told her.

“Do my parent’s know?”

“No, at the moment, only yourself, your family, Harry, Nymphadora, Remus and I are keyed into the Wards. I’ll transfer the Wards over to you tonight,” Sirius explained. There was a small driveway, the two cars looked rather luxurious. Hermione led the way to a large wooden door; she pushed it open into an airy house.

“Mum, Dad, are you home?” she called out, entering the house, followed by Sirius and Harry.

“We’re in the kitchen,” they heard a female lilt. The kitchen was a large open area with an island in the middle, where her dad was leaning up against it, and her Mum was drying some plates. “We didn’t expect to see you home until Christmas or next summer.”

“Can we go sit in the lounge? We want to have a chat with you,” Hermione said nervously. After getting a round of tea and coffee’s for everyone, they were sat on two cream coloured sofas looking at each other. Harry had Hermione’s hand in his own; her parent’s were exchanging looks.

“Hello, Mr and Mrs Granger. I’m Harry Black, and this is my father, Sirius,” Harry introduced himself, feeling weird to call himself Black.

“Please call us William and Isabella,” Mr Granger said, “Are you Harry Potter, my daughter’s friend?”

“Yes, Sir, I recently discovered Sirius was my father,” Harry answered.

“I can see why my daughter likes you; she’s always talking about you in her letters,” Isabella spoke with a grin. Hermione flushed red as Sirius barked out laughter.

“Have you now?” Harry turned to Hermione, “I hope it’s all good.”

“Oh, I like your parents,” Sirius spoke.

“Forgive us for asking, but are you the same Sirius Black they were searching for in the papers?” William asked.

“Bit of a misunderstanding, I was sent to jail for something I didn’t do, but I’m now free and innocent,” Sirius returned, then looked around the house, “you have a lovely home.”

“Thank you, we love it here. Although we could do with a bigger library,” William looked at his daughter, who tucked herself further into Harry.

“Thank god Ceph isn’t like that, or we’d have to doubly expand the library and study,” Isabella laughed.

“I quite like her studiousness,” Harry spoke defensively.

“Big words, Black,” Hermione muttered.

“You misunderstand me; Ceph is the strange one. He likes sports; the rest of us all love books.”

“I’m sure you come here for another reason rather than Hermione’s love of books,” William said.

“Speaking of your son, he’s the reason we’re here. How much do you know of his birth parents?” Sirius asked.

“Not a lot, we just know they named him Cepheus, which we liked, and he was born May eighth 1984,” Isabella looked confused.

“Can you remember where you adopted him from?” Harry asked.

“Some agency in London, but for some reason, I can’t remember where,” William answered, suddenly looking pale and clammy. Isabella held her husband as Sirius conjured up a glass of water.

“Memory charm?” Harry and Sirius said at the same time.

“You think?” Hermione asked.

“Can someone please explain what’s going on?” Isabella demanded.

“I had a memory charm, my memories removed, to make me forget I had a relationship with Harry’s mother and a second relationship. However, my bank opened up a second trust fund eleven years, meaning I had a second child. Recently I took a potion to retrieve those memories, which helped me remember I had been in a relationship with a woman called Holly Du Vere after Hogwarts, possibly engaged. Sometime in 1983, I had a conjugal visit from Holly,” Sirius blushed hard.

“You think Cepheus might be your child?” The light went off in Isabella, “Why?”

“The dates add up, and even though Harry, Hermione and Ron have been friends for fives years, not once has she mentioned ever having a sibling,” Sirius ticked off the points on his hand.

“That does sound off, but not conclusive,”

“I’ll also add every Black child is named after a star-“

“And Cepheus is the name of a star,” William finished.

“We’ll know for certain September first. If he is, I don’t want to take him away from you, but Harry and I would like to know him.” William settled down a little bit at that.

“Cepheus, could you come downstairs, please,” the man shouted. Several minutes later, they heard a herd of elephants come downstairs, then a young boy slid into the front room. Sirius gasped.

“He looks like Regulus at that age,” Sirius whispered. Harry looked at the boy, probably a foot shorter than him, with dark hair and stormy grey eyes. He also looked like Draco a bit; if this wasn’t Sirius’ son and his half-brother, this was his doppelganger.

“Ceph, I’d like you to meet Mr Black and his son Harry,” William introduced the pair.

“You’re the one Mi likes; she’s got little hearts with HG + HP in her diary,” Ceph was quite outspoken. Harry tried not to laugh as his friend grabbed the boy and gave him a noogie. They chatted for a while longer, allowing Sirius to get to know the Granger’s. Cepheus had pulled Harry off to show the older teen his room.

“Have you taken him to Diagon Alley yet?” Sirius asked as they were about to leave.

“Not yet,” Hermione’s Mum said.

“I believe Hermione needs her stuff also, so we can take them together,” Sirius suggested.

“Sounds like a good idea. Hermione, well done on becoming a prefect,” Isabella hugged her again as Harry came down from seeing Ceph’s room.

“So you’re not a couple then?” William blurted, looking between Harry and Hermione.

“No, we’re just very close friends,” Harry responded with a smile towards his friend.

“Well, Hermione has had a crush on you since the first-year,” Isabella completely mortified her daughter.

“Mum!”

“What? You’re not embarrassed, are you?”

“On that note, I think it’s time we left,” The three bid the Granger’s goodbye, then went off to find somewhere to apparate back to Hárasteorra Hall.


End file.
